Ninja of the Spiral
by brown phantom
Summary: What was it that made Uzushio so feared that it had to be destroyed? What was everyone else so afraid of? After the VotE, Naruto will find out. He will learn that the Uzumaki cannot be destroyed quite so easily, and if you fight against a whirlpool, you'll only spiral out of control.
1. Prologue

**Ninja of the Spiral**

**Prologue**

[Hokage's Office, Konoha]

_Seven Years Before the Current Time..._

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha, had faced many challenges throughout his long life. He was no stranger to uncomfortable situations, not by a long shot and the one he was currently in, while it didn't even come close to topping his list, could easily lead to a situation that would if he didn't handle it just right.

What was this new challenge, you might ask?

He was having a meeting with foreign delegates regarding terms of alliance between the two villages, with the bonds already existing between them having become incredibly strained. The future of both would be made or broken today, and he knew it very well.

"Do not mock our intelligence by playing dumb here, Sarutobi. We know there is at least one Uzumaki in this village. We may not be Konoha nin but we have every right in the world to see this person, or these people if it's more than one Uzumaki, for ourselves. Do not make this more difficult than it needs to be." The leader of the group of foreign shinobi warned him.

This person was a foreign liaison, a representative from one village to another on behalf of the village's leader, regardless of whether or not that leader was also a Kage. While they were in the other village they were to be treated as if they were equals to the kage themselves, even though they had no actual authority.

"I'm afraid you just proved yourself wrong. As you are not Konoha-nin, and in fact are not even citizens of Konoha, you do not have no right force me to do anything that involves a citizen of my village." Sarutobi told this person and their advisers.

"No, but as Uzumaki we do have a right to freely interact with our kin. Or are you going to pretend that there are none in Konoha?"

"What makes you so sure there are Uzumaki still alive in Konoha?" Sarutobi asked. "I won't confirm or deny it but I do need to know what gives you reason to believe this."

"Simple." The person to the right of the main liaison answered. "The Kyuubi attacked Konoha a few years ago. The fact that we're not standing in the ashes of its burnt ruins can only mean that it was successfully resealed and, seeing considering the last two jinchuriki were members of our clan, that means there has to be an Uzumaki around holding it. And there's no way you wouldn't know where such an Uzumaki is."

Sarutobi closed his eyes for a moment. "Alright, there's no way for me to argue that. Yes, there is an Uzumaki in Konoha. But they are a citizen of Konoha and are a part of Konoha. Therefore you have no jurisdiction over him."

The person standing in the middle of the three ninja arched an eyebrow. "You speak as if we came here solely for the purpose of taking this person away, whom I'm concluding is a boy by your use of the word 'him'."

That threw off the seasoned ninja, but he was good at not showing it. "Then why _are_ you here?"

"We came to check on the well-being of the Uzumaki remaining in Konoha, particularly the jinchuuriki. And we intend to offer our services to ensure his, or them if there are others, continued and if need be improved well-being. If we are satisfied in how things are here we will gladly allow your village to continue supporting our kin, but if we feel this village is endangering them, we will respond accordingly."

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "And that would entail...?"

"You don't want to know, old man." The person to the left of the head liaison answered.

Looking at the three of them, Sarutobi knew that threat was far from hollow.

The person standing in the middle of the three ambassadors was Uzumaki Kikyo, one of the strongest kunoichi to ever live, rivaled only by Hiruzen's own student, Tsunade. From what he had heard, she was an expert in many shinobi skills but was most proficient in long-range attacks and was the epitome of the term 'marksman'. She was capable of killing off her opponents before they even knew she was nearby, most often with a yumi bow she sported. Sarutobi had only seen her do it once and even now he still couldn't figure how she she was able to do it. But her accuracy and range could not be matched by anyone; known as "One-Shot Kikyo" because one shot was all she needed to take your life, her marksmanship was so great she could effortlessly kill a person from five miles away with one shot of her bow. Simply put it, if Kikyo wanted you dead, it was only a matter of time until you died.

Appearance-wise, Kikyo was a 24 year old red-haired woman who always looked and carried herself like a professional. She was wearing the standard Uzumaki armor of her village, which looked mostly like a plated apron for both front and back, with a red long sleeve shirt underneath and dark blue pants, and a yumi bow and quiver on her back. Her eyes were azure and her hair was almost as red as lava, cut in a hime style with a low ponytail behind her. At her hip was a sheathed dagger, though Sarutobi had no idea why she carried such a weapon given her talents.

Standing to Kikyo's right was another girl, Uzumaki Miya. She was 19 years old with amber eyes and dull red hair tied at the end behind her shoulders with a grey hitai-ate across her forehead. She was an expert swordswoman and those that have seen her fight said she was so good they couldn't see her or her blade when she attacked even as she was cutting her opponents down. She had an inherent talent for spotting openings and finding the weak points of both weapons and people. People claimed it was downright impossible to fight her and not lose some blood from it. You'd have a better chance of successfully walking across burning coals than escaping a battle with Miya unscathed.

To Kikyo's left was the one male of the group, Uzumaki Jun. He had blue eyes and vermilion shade of red hair, and he was the only person there Sarutobi was unfamiliar with. He wore an armored suit like the other two and carried a shakujo, as if trying to look like a monk. If that was his intention, however, it clearly wasn't working. Sarutobi has seen too many Uzumaki in his lifetime to believe one of them was incapable of kicking someone else's ass.

"I suppose I should tell you everything, seeing as how you're already on the verge of figuring it out yourselves." Sarutobi started. "You are right about there being an Uzumaki in the village and about there being an Uzumaki jinchuuriki in the village. What you don't know... is there's only one Uzumaki in the village and one alone."

"Are you telling us that Kushina-sama is dead?" Jun asked.

Sarutobi sadly nodded. "Yeah, that was a grave lose for us all."

"Oh man, Rea is _not_ going to like this bit of news at all." Miya said to her colleagues, who nodded in agreement.

"Miya, go find Rea. Knowing him he's probably doing something incredibly stupid right now." Kikyo ordered. Miya nodded, then seemed to just disappear into thin air without using a shunshin.

"Kushina may be gone, but she died so her son would live. That is something to be respected." Sarutobi added.

"Her son?" Kikyo asked, then smiled. "Excellent. So appears there is a heir after all."

"Heir? You mean a clan heir?" Sarutobi asked, wondering if they intended to pull leverage over him somehow.

"More than that. Heir to all of Uzushio." Jun answered.

"Heir to an entire village?" Sarutobi asked. "How can that be? Hidden villages aren't run by monarchies."

"Yours isn't, ours is." Jun claimed. "The way ours works is a bit different from normal monarchs. We have a leader who chooses an appropriate successor from direct family, and if no suitable candidates are available more distant relatives are taken into consideration. So in that sense, we are a monarchy. But the ruling class must maintain their own training and missions as ninja just like everyone. They rule over warriors, and ninja trust their kage more than their daimyo, so our rulers must be kage more than anything else."

"But due to the troubles our village has faced in past decade or so, the ruling branch of the Uzumaki family has almost died off entirely." Kikyo interjected. "If Kushina-sama has a living son, he is a legitimate heir to the kage throne. He must be taken to Uzushio."

"I'm afraid I cannot allow that." Sarutobi said, and saw both of them reach for their weapons. "Would you care to hear why? Or would you rather just kill me?"

They stayed their hands. "This better be good, old man." Jun said, just barely to avoid sounding threatening.

Sarutobi folded his hands together. "First, Kushina and her husband died to protect Konoha from the Kyuubi. To take away their son, the jinchuuriki who to this day still continues to protect the village in their stead, you make their sacrifice meaningless. If that is not enough for you, consider this. The balance of power between the five major countries is always delicate. Taking away Konoha's jinchuuriki removes a vital asset from that balance and leaves the lives of everyone in jeopardy. Not only that but, considering that you're trying to keep your reconstruction efforts secret to the rest of the villlages, having a jinchuriki appear right in the middle of your village would be like telling the world, including your enemies, that your village survived. Not to mention we that have a history of being able to provide for two jinchuuriki in the past, whereas your village to the best of my knowledge is currently having a hard enough time with the people you have at the moment. Giving you a jinchuuriki child would only complicate things for you. Besides, would your ninja accept a jinchuuriki as leader?"

"Would yours?" Kikyo asked.

Sarutobi did not know what to say. In argumentative terms, that was definitely a perfect counter. "I'd like to believe someday it will be possible, but I cannot say for certain it will come anytime soon. I'm no prophet you know."

"Sometimes you don't need to be." Kikyo stated.

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

Coming out of the Konoha cemetery was a man wearing a hooded black coat with a large spiral on the back and the hood up, as well as black gloves and shinobi sandals. He was the kind of guy that looked immediately suspicious to you, but all he had done was pay his respects to one of the deceased. 'I wish I had been there Nee-san. Maybe I couldn't have changed anything, but at least I could have made an attempt. But at least I can do something for your son, once I find him.' He looked left and right, wondering where to go. 'I already checked out the Uzumaki buildings, but they were all abandoned. Where would her son live if not there?'

The black-coating wearing individual put more thought into it. 'I should try searching the village while putting my admittedly limited sensory skills to good use. Who knows? I've gotten good at controlling myself while using _that_ power, so maybe I could try using it to augment my sensory abilities. If I'm lucky, it _might_ help me find him.'

With that decided, he jumped to get atop a nearby telephone pole, giving him a decent view of the village. 'This should do.' He though before closing his eyes and opening up his chakra senses. In sensing, high altitudes helped expand the search area, but the downside was it was harder to sense in focus. Same principle as normal eyes trying to see from a distance.

Fortunately, the target he was looking for didn't need to be in focus. 'I'm not sure if that's him, but it's definitely the most obvious chakra signature in town. That's a start.' He said before jumping from pole to pole to get closer to the chakra source.

As he got closer, he could tell more and more about the chakra signature. He could sense that it was similar to what his sister's chakra signature had felt like. But, at the same time, it was different. Like a mix of her chakra signature and someone else's, like you'd find in someone who was a child of theirs. As he got closer and closer and could better sense it, he became more and more sure that it was the person he was looking for.

That wasn't the only thing he could sense. Once he got close enough, he could tell that the chakra signature was in an erratic flux. Not like when someone was using their chakra. No, this was far different. It felt panicked. Like the person was scared.

No, not scared. Terrified would be a better way to put it.

He could only run faster at sensing that.

After a bit he had to leave the poles and take to the rooftops instead to get closer. Once he did, he saw someone else take to the rooftops too, someone dressed like a ninja and carrying what looked and sounded like a protesting child in their arms. And if that wasn't bad enough on its own, the chakra signature he had been pursuing seemed to be coming off the child.

The black-coated man narrowed his eyes at the ninja's retreating form as he pursued him. 'On no you don't...!'

He held out his right hand, and from his palm emerged a small flame that spiraled out and grew before pulling back and forming a spinning loop rotating around his wrist. He pulled back his arm and bit then thrusted it forward as if throwing something. With that, the fire ring left his arm and sailed through the area like a frisbee at the ninja taking a child.

The fire ring smashed into the nin's waist, burning him badly while seeming to even cut into him upon impact. Said impact forced the ninja to collapse on the roof of a building, allowed the hood-covered man a chance to catch up. When he got there, the kid was already on his feet and trying to get away, but not sure how to get away.

"You okay kid?" He asked, but the boy wouldn't respond. "Hey! You okay?"

The boy turned to look at him, and his expression was frightened. Like he expected this guy to do something to him.

The black-coated man's eyes widened at the sight of the boy's face as he began to take in the appearance of the frightened boy he'd just saved. The child was no older then six, seven at the absolute oldest and that was assuming he was short for his age. He had blonde spiked hair with blue eyes and a set of obvious whisker marks on his cheeks. His clothes were brightly colored but faded and dirty with some patches, like they were hand-me-downs or ones he had kept for a long time, unable to replace.

But what got him most was the shape of the boy's face. It was the EXACT same shape that his sister's was when she was the boy's age. If he'd had any doubts that this was the kid he was looking for, they were erased when he saw this.

The black-coated man decided that removing his hood might make him look less intimidating to the poor boy. So, with this in mind, he reached a hand up and began to pull down his hood. "It's alright kid." He said when his face was visible. He had a normal facial shape with emerald eyes and spiked hair just as the boy did. Only his hair was a little longer and more of a rusted scarlet color with some orange streaks to it. "I'm not here to hurt you. Why was that guy taking you anyway?"

The child was still shaking. "I don't know. One minute I was just out walking when this big smelly man started chasing me with glass in his hands. He kept tripping for some reason so I thought I lost him in an alley, but he caught up. This masked guy showed up and saved me, but before I could even thank him he grabbed me and said he was taking me away."

"Sounds rough. And not at all like something that should have happened. But you're safe now. The name's Uzumaki Rea, got it memorized? What's yours?"

The boy's eyes widened. "U... Uzumaki?"

"Yeah, does it mean anything to you?" Rea asked.

The blonde boy slowly nodded. "Yes, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. Why do you have my name?"

"I assume the same reason you have my name. You're part of my clan."

"Clan? What's a clan?" Naruto asked.

'Okay, even kids half his age know what clans are when they're in clans. Clearly someone's withholding information from him, and if he doesn't know that, what _does_ he know?' Rea asked.

Rea just sighed and looked down before mumbling something, then looked up at Naruto. "C'mon, kid. You and I have a LOT to talk about."

"Y-you... you are not taking that boy ANYWHERE..."

Rea looked to the ninja he had taken down, and this guy was back on his feet, albeit shaking while he stood. He pressed a button on a black panel on his belt, which made Rea raise an eyebrow. "Listen buddy, there's nothing you can say to me to make me walk away from this boy. And if he is who I think he is, I won't have a problem killing you to make that happen. Got it? So do us both a favor and you be the one to walk away."

The ninja, whom Rea noticed had an ANBU mask he did not recognize as being from the normal ANBU, shook his head. "I cannot do that! My superior had ordered that this boy be brought to him... and failure is NOT an option!"

Rea signed and shook his head. "Why do I always get stuck with the icky jobs?"

Rea raised his arms to his sides as a burst of flame appeared in each hand. The bursts of flame soon spiraled out and reformed themselves into large and oddly-shaped chakrams with flames around the spiked edges. The ninja, caught off guard by this, could only bring himself to stare at the weapons that quite LITERALLY formed out of nothing but fire. Rea began spinning one of them as fast as he could before letting it fly toward the nin.

"Eat this!" He said as he threw the first ring. The masked nin jumped and turned in the air to dodge the chakram that twisted itself in the air as well, like it was trying to reshape itself into another weapon. While the enemy was in the air and unable to react, Rea threw his second fire chakram. This one flew through the air vertically and hit the masked nin's abdomen, cutting right through it like a buzzsaw and cauterizing the wound perfectly. Both fire rings faded and the bisected nin collapsed, the top half on the roof and the bottom half over the edge. Someone from below screamed, not expecting a person's legs and ass to fall down by them like that.

Rea stepped up to the downed ninja and leaned down to whisper. "That's what you get for trying to hurt my nephew." He said it too quietly for Naruto to hear it.

Suddenly a large cluster of kunai bearing exploding tags appeared out of nowhere, impaling themselves in the roof around the fallen nin but not hitting either him or Rea, as if they were supposed to miss. Not having time to think it over, Rea pulled back quickly and grabbed Naruto without a word, although the boy was clearly not fond of being taken again, then jumped to the next building just before it exploded.

On the other rooftop he saw a group consisting of six ninja all wearing the same outfits and masks as the one he just killed, the only thing giving them any individuality appearance-wise being their own height and hair. And all of them looked ready to fight, as soon as he made a move.

"Well, this might actually pose a challenge for me." Rea said, setting Naruto down to free his hands. The young boy scurried away, but couldn't get too far without getting close to the others. "Stay behind me, kid!" He told the younger Uzumaki as he raised his arms to his sides again, his hands open and his palms facing outward, before reforming his flame-chakrams.

"Why should I trust you?" Naruto asked.

"It's either me or them, feel free to choose."

The masked nin moved as one to ambush the two Uzumaki, forcing Naruto to decide by hiding behind Rea. The orange-streaked redhead held out his hands forward, turning his chakrams into a type of shield rather than weapon. He added a spiral of fire to them to give them more cover, so it looked like he was defending himself with his own clan symbol.

The masked nin were surprised to see this. This man, whoever he was, was using jutsu and abilities unlike anything they had ever seen. In some ways, it reminded them of a red-haired woman that their leader had briefed them on. One who was supposedly connected to the blond they were attempting to bring to him.

They couldn't think of that right now, they had to continue their attack on him and get to the boy. Each drew out a katana and four of them moved to hit the flames directly while two others would move around them.

Rea saw this coming, however. He threw his two flame-chakrams like boomerangs, bisecting the two attackers coming at them from the side before they could even blink, and stomped one foot to the ground. When he did, a large ring of fire sprung up around him and Naruto protectively before he caught his flame-chakrams.

The four other ninja were spared the attack, but one of them managed to cut his coat and draw some blood. They couldn't add more because of the fire wall, so they pulled back. "This won't protect you." One of them said before taking out a scroll and unsealing some stored water. "Suiton: Water Bullet Volley!" From the water on the roof sprang forth a lot of projectiles at high speed right at Rea.

Rea just threw one of his flame chakrams at them and raised his hands as a wall of fire rose up from the ring of fire, blocking the water projectiles. The flames that the wall of fire was made of were so hot that the water projectiles turned to steam before they could get very far through it.

Naruto looked at the older Uzumaki, in awe of the power the man was displaying. 'Th-this guy... he's _really_ strong...!'

"You're good, but you can't keep this fire up forever." One of the ninja reprimanded, holding up a paper tag with a seal on it.

Rea narrowed his eyes, able to recognize that seal. 'It's a fire suppressor, a low quality one by Uzushio terms but enough to buy them some time to get past my defense.'

The nin got ready to throw it, but before he did, he just dropped it. And the hand that was holding it.

The other ninja were stunned by this surprise, then felt something cut them all and blood gush out. But for the life of them, none of them could see what was cutting them now.

Rea smirked at seeing this. 'About time she showed up...! If she'd taken any longer, there's a chance I would've had to start resorting to THAT!'

"Tell me you didn't spur this on Rea. Again." The voice of Miya said to him, fazing out of invisibility among the downed masked men, holding her sword which was covered in dripping blood.

"Nope, not my fault this happened Miya. Besides, their friend was trying to hurt a fellow Uzumaki. If I had started it, wouldn't you want me to instead?"

Miya sighed. "You have a point there." She then looked at the blond boy hiding behind Rea as Rea dispersed his ring of fire and made his flame-chakrams disappear. "Is this him?"

"Yes, and apparently something's going on here. Something that is completely uncalled for." Rea said.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

Rea and Miya shared a look. Both knew that telling the boy would only confuse him, and at worst could plant seeds of outrage and disaster in his mind and future. They couldn't say anything in front of him, not yet anyway, but how to tell him this without losing any chance at getting his trust?

Rea contemplated telling him that they knew his mother and were only able to come see him now. It wasn't a lie. it just wasn't the full truth. He opened his mouth to speak, but just as quickly as he did that Miya came right up to the young boy and put her finger on his forehead. In no time Naruto collapsed and started snoring.

"Miya!" Rea said, bothered.

"Not now. I know you want to tell him, but doing it without Kikyo-sama is a bad idea." Miya told him. "Before you object, are you sure you want to risk offending One-Shot Kikyo?"

"Alright alright, I'll keep my mouth shut. But she will want to hear what I heard." Rea told her.

* * *

"Welcome back Rea-san." Kikyo greeted formally when the two Uzumaki returned to the Hokage office. "I trust you've gotten your little need for sight-seeing out of your system." She arched an eyebrow at the sight of the child in Miya's arms. "And what's this?"

Rea held a slightly dark look as he turned his gaze towards Kikyo. "This is the Uzumaki we're looking for. And I have reason to believe that he's my nephew, since the last people in this village besides Kushina-nee-san that were known to have Uzumaki blood were Tsunade and Nawaki. And, as you know, Nawaki died at about the age of 12 and Tsunade never had any children."

Kikyo didn't react, but she looked over the boy. Nothing about him looked like a trait from the Uzumaki clan, but his chakra... that was definitely of her clan. There could be no mistaking it.

"What have you done to the boy?" Sarutobi asked.

Rea gave the old man a dirty look. "I could ask you and this whole village the same thing. Did you know he was being abducted when I first saw him? And before that, a man I'm guessing was drunk, at NOON mind you, was trying to hurt him with broken glass?"

The Uzumaki in the room widened their eyes at these words, then turned to Sarutobi with their eyes narrowed. The old man felt like the air was getting thick with heavy ill intent. "Sarutobi, care to explain why such an event would be occurring in your village?"

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Sarutobi was in hot water with the visiting Uzumaki. "The people of Konoha don't take too kindly to the knowledge of this boy being the jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi. Right now, you have an idea of how kindly they don't take it."

"Don't take it kindly?" Rea repeated, offended by the phrasing meant to soften the news. "This was attempted murder and attempted kidnapping! This is beyond not liking what he is, this is treating the child like he IS the demon!"

"That regrettably is how some see the boy. Fortunately I've at least forbidden anyone from speaking of it so no one his age knows the truth." Sarutobi replied.

Jun folded his arms. "With all due respect Hokage-dono, forbidding anyone from talking doesn't stop them from acting on those thoughts they can't speak of."

"Clearly this village is not a safe place for the child." Kikyo stated.

Sarutobi sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, you're right. But there are a few who look past the hatred of others and see him for who he really is. Like the Hyuuga heiress, for example."

Miya tapped her foot on the floor. "You expect us to leave him here, knowing this, just because a little girl has a crush on him?"

"No, I'd be foolish and undeserving of my job if that was my one argument to the case. Look, the truth of the matter is when Kushina was giving birth the seal on her failed and someone whose identity we've yet to learn took contorl of the escaping Kyuubi. Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, husband to Kushina and father to Naruto there, was able to reseal the fox inside his son, but both parents died in the process. They died believing that Naruto could protect the village better than they ever could. To take him away from Konoha before he even has a chance to be a ninja would be spitting on their sacrifice."

Rea clenched his fist at this. "I get that. But isn't letting him live in these conditions with people trying to kill him spitting on their sacrifice even MORE SO than taking him away from here should be, a place that one of his parents once called home?"

"There is only so much I can do to keep him safe." Sarutobi explained.

"Obviously you're not doing enough. Naruto revealed to me he doesn't even know what a clan is. Tell me, how can a clan heir and the one Uzumaki in this village not know something that basic if you were doing everything possible to honor my sister? You're the Hokage so couldn't you just tell him about his heritage yourself?!" Rea asked.

Sarutobi sighed. "It's not as easy as you think. I can't teach him anything ninja-related myself without drawing more attention to us both, but I have told him to always listen in class once he starts the Academy. Not only that, but while I was focusing on making sure we recovered from the Kyuubi attack, the civilian council got their hooks into the Academy and changed the curriculum around a bit. One thing they've done was cut learning about the Uzumaki from the program in order to try and save face with the other nations by making us seem unassociated with your clan. I myself didn't find out until recently and intend to rectify this situation as soon as possible."

"You let the civilians decide what should and shouldn't be taught to ninja?" Kikyo repeated, making a look of disappointment and bewilderment. It was an expression shared by the rest of her clansmen at the moment.

Sarutobi shook his head. "No, it's more like they forged my signature and put in an order for it to be changed to their liking."

"And you let them stay in power?" Jun asked, starting to get angry.

"No, of course not. I had them sentenced to life without possibility for parole on grounds of usurping and defrauding the Hokage. I have the current council fixing the problem now. Like I said, the problem was only recently discovered."

"So to fix a problem created by civilians, you're entrusting new civilians to fix it simply because they're new?" Rea asked.

"I'm awaiting the report of the new curriculum as we speak. And to make sure it's genuine and not a mere diversion, I will check it myself when the semester starts."

"I can understand that but we still have reason to believe Naruto here is better off in our village. Especially if the people who wish harm on him will find ways to use their children to make it happen for them." Kikyo claimed.

Sarutobi nodded sadly, knowing that they had a point. "Is there any way we can find some sort of compromise that would allow us to _fully_ honor Minato and Kushina's wishes as well as do what's best for Naruto-kun?"

Rea thought it over for a second before a grin, not unlike one that would be seen on Naruto's face when he was planning something big, stretched across his face. "I think I've got an idea."

Hiruzen visibly cringed when Rea said those words. "I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"


	2. Chapter 1

**Ninja of the Spiral**

**Chapter 1**

[Konoha Hospital, Konohagakure]

_Current Time..._

A young boy tried to open his eyes but found that the light was too painful for him at the moment and was forced him to close them again.

'What happened?' He asked himself, before he managed to answer his own question.

'Oh right, the teme tried to leave and I had to kick his ass to get him to come back. Did a good job of kicking my ass in return, I'll give him that. But then... how did I get back here? Wait, I _am_ in Konoha right?' he asked himself as he struggled to open his eyes... and tried to figure out what was going on.

The boy was none other than Uzumaki Naruto, genin of Konohagakure and Hokage-hopeful, who was recovering from his latest mission. As the young Konoha-nin couldn't even open his eyes immediately and was now covered in bandages that wrapped everywhere other then his hair, mouth, nose, and eyes like a mummy it was clear that this mission had nearly killed the normally loud blonde.

Naruto opened his eyes, fighting the pain he felt in doing so, and lifted his hand above said eyes see he could dim the light. He could make out a room with white walls and an open window, as well as a regular beeping noise. 'Yep, I'm in a hospital, so that's a somewhat good sign.'

A knock was heard at the door. Naruto by reflex tried to say 'come in' but his mouth was sore at the moment. The best he could verbalize was "Ahwin."

Taking that as a sing, the door opened and Naruto saw a familiar face, putting his mind at rest regarding where he was. "Yo, Naruto. I'm glad to see you didn't die on my watch. You look like hell, though; did Sasuke really do all that to you?" Shikamaru asked.

"Zawshk..." He started, then sighed and coughed. "Ahter?" He mimed drinking from a glass to get his point across.

Shikamaru sighed. "Hold on I'll go get some." Before Naruto could point out there was a sink nearby, Shikamaru had already left the room.

'Damn, guy's too lazy to listen to a guy who can barely speak.' Naruto groaned before laying back down. 'But he did a good job leading this mission.' He added, then grimaced. 'This mission... why did it have to happen in the first place? What the hell was Sasuke thinking leaving Konoha? The guy's never wanted anything except killing his brother or having his family back so I know he wants to get stronger... but why couldn't he just train to do that here? What could Orochimaru give him that Konoha couldn't? And what would've made it worth so much to Sasuke that he'd risk letting Orochimaru take over his body just to get whatever that snake was offering him?' Naruto thought to himself as the blonde, going against his usual rash self, tried thinking to himself about what could've happened.

For the life of him, Naruto couldn't understand what Sasuke had been thinking. So he tried going over what he _did_ know. Sasuke had lost his entire family in one night to his brother and swore vengeance on said brother which is why Sasuke trained himself to be better than 100% to get his revenge. He had been approached by Orochimaru in the Forest of Death during the Chunin Exams, and was obviously approached by Orochimaru at least a couple of times after that encounter both directly and indirectly, with the snake giving him an offer to come to him in exchange for more power. He had failed to kill Itachi the first time he actually saw his older brother. And then he had decided to take up Orochimaru's offer and abandon Konoha and his team, and suffer the legal ramifications of said decision.

Naruto had encountered Itachi only once, and truth be told he could understand why Sasuke was so afraid of the guy that he'd make it a point to see him dead. Even if you ignored the fact that Uchiha Itachi was strong enough to kill his entire clan in one night, the guy had a way of making his opponent feel powerless. In fact, that might have been a big part of how he was able to kill so many in one night to begin with. But of course Naruto was still young and inexperienced by comparison so that had to be considered. Anyway, Itachi was able to attack the mind, the body, the heart, even the spirit of his prey. He didn't just kill his opponents, he destroyed everything that defined them, though whether this was Itachi's intention was something that, for some reason, Naruto was unsure of.

Naruto had no idea what the full extent of Itachi's powers were. In fact, he doubted even Sasuke knew. Quite possibly the only person who had an accurate idea was Jiraiya of the Sannin, the one person that Itachi appeared to either acknowledge as being far more powerful than Itachi himself or was outright afraid of.

'Why didn't Sasuke just ask Ero-senning to train him? His brother said Ero-sennin was stronger than him. Couldn't Sasuke at least have tried to ask the pervert for some help before going to Orochimaru? What made him think that freak knows anything about Itachi?' Naruto asked himself. 'Either Orochimaru knows something about Itachi that he told Sasuke when I wasn't around to hear it or the freak is controlling him somehow. Those are the only explanations that makes any sense.'

The door opened and Shikamaru came back with a glass of water, but he had company this time. Next to him was Hinata, who looked nervous but not surprised by how bandaged Naruto was, much to the blonde genin's own surprise. "Here you go." Shikamaru said, offering the glass.

Naruto eagerly took it and guzzled it down. He coughed a bit when he stopped, but his throat felt better. "Thanks Shikamaru. Heh, looks like I can talk again."

"Naruto-kun, what happened to you?" Hinata asked.

Naruto sighed before he answered. "I guess Sasuke didn't want to play nice." He said, then touched the spot where a chidori had gone right through him. "The fight got so out of control that he probably didn't even know what he was doing and tried to kill me. He nearly succeeded a couple of times, too."

Shikamaru's eyes marginally widened to hear this, and Hinata looked like she was going to faint from the shock.

"But enough about me. What about the others in our team? What happened to Kiba, Choji, and Neji? And what of Sasuke? Did I manage to stop him or did he-?" Naruto asked before stopping, not wanting to even think of the alternative to that last question.

"It's a long story Naruto." Shikamaru started, clearly uncomfortable with the current line of questioning.

"I'm not going anywhere." Naruto reminded the lazy boy.

Shikamaru sighed. "Fine, if you're going to make me say it, Chouji and Neji are in critical care right now. Of all our fights those two clearly got the worst of it; that said there's no reason to believe that they're in danger of dying according to the medics. Tsunade-sama is a real drag to deal with sometimes but I gotta hand it to her, she really pulled through with her medical expertise... if she hadn't I'd be giving you the dates for Choji and Neji's funerals funerals right now. As for the rest of us, Kiba and Akamaru are a little less injured than you are and are doing fine now. All I got out of this mission was a broken finger." He held up his hand to show this. "Also Lee and some allies from Suna, Gaara and his two siblings, came along to help and all of them seem to be in good shape. As for Sasuke... he was brought back by your sensei, who brought you back at the same time. He's being treated, but not allowed visitors for the time. Bet Ino's finding that out right now."

"I bet Sakura-chan's finding it out too." Naruto noted, a bit bothered but not the least bit surprised that his pink-haired teammate would check up on Sasuke before him even if it wasn't allowed. But he tried to ignore that, he was simply relieved that Sasuke was in Konoha right now.

"Anyways, the important thing is we all got out of it alive and we were successful in our mission. That's something to be thankful for." Shikamaru added. "By the way you should know that you've been unconscious for three days."

If Naruto was still drinking water, he would have done a spit take at that news. "Three days?!"

"Yep, I've been coming by each day to check on you and the others. Same with Hinata, though unlike me she always went to see you first." Shikamaru pointed out, gesturing to the white-eyed girl with a quick tilt of his head for a moment.

Hinata's face darkened. "I... I just... I wanted..." She poked her fingers together, unsure what to say and unable to look anyone in the eyes.

"Thanks you guys. Has anyone else been by?" Naruto asked.

"No idea. If they have then it wasn't when I was around." Shikamaru answered, then saw Hinata was still fumbling with herself. "Well, I've got nothing left to say, so I'll get going and check on Kiba. Though I imagine Hinata might want to stick around a little longer." Again, without bothering to give anyone a chance to say otherwise, he left the room.

Naruto looked to Hinata, who wasn't speaking anymore or looking at him. To him, she looked like she wanted desperately to be somewhere else but couldn't leave without being rude. "Hinata, if you want to go you can. I won't stop you," He gently told her, giving her the out he thought she wanted.

Hinata looked at him now. "I want to stay." She blurted out, then caught herself. "I mean... if you'll allow it."

"Sure, why wouldn't I?" He replied. "Get comfortable though, you look like you're anything but that." Hinata sat down in a chair by his bed put there for visitors. "Was there anything you wanted to say to me Hinata?"

The white-eyed girl tensed for a moment. There were many things she wanted to say, but she didn't know where to start, let alone if she even could make herself say any to begin with. "Naruto-kun, what happened to you out there? I heard you were nearly killed."

"Huh? Who told you that?" Naruto asked.

"Your sensei. He said Sasuke-san tried to kill you with an assassination jutsu. And you yourself just said that he probably tried to kill you and that he nearly succeeded." She said, small tears forming in the corners of her eyes at these words.

"Oh. Well... Sasuke did come at me with the chidori, but... surely he wasn't really trying to kill me, or at least he wasn't doing it willingly. It had to be the seal that Orochiamru messing with his mind or something." Naruto countered.

Hinata shook his head. "Naruto-kun, your own teammate nearly destroyed your heart and probably demolished your lung and half your ribs. How can you possibly defend him?"

"Because it had to be Orochimaru controlling him. It's not his fault... it can't be..." Naruto said.

"Naruto-kun, I know about seals controlling people. Remember what Neji-nii-san told you about my clan?" Hinata asked. "The Caged Bird Seal doesn't control how the bearer thinks. It can be used to discourage certain lines of thought, but not automatically. For it to do anything, someone who knows how to use it has to enact it, and be in proximity to it. So for a seal to affect Sasuke-san, Orochimaru would have to actually be nearby and use it. And if that was the case, why would he let Kakashi-sensei to bring you both back?"

"Well, he wasn't thinking right. I mean, he did get hit by a genjutsu from someone recently." Naruto pointed out, making sure to not completely point out that it was Itachi as that was another can of worms. "That could have affected him."

"When was he hit?" Hinata asked.

Naruto thought it over. "Umm... during the mission where Ero-sennin and I brought back Baa-chan." He noted the hyuuga heiress's confused expression at his choice of phrasing. "Our new Hokage."

Hinata arched an eyebrow. "Naruto-kun, my sensei is a genjutsu expert and she went to see if that was the case. If it was she would've said so, but she didn't. And believe me, there are few genjutsus, if any, that can affect a Sharingan-user for that long. If he had been hit with one then, a few weeks ago, any effect of it would have worn off by now. Long-term genjutsus are almost impossible to cast on the Uchiha."

"What are you saying Hinata? That Sasuke actually wanted me dead? He may be a jerk but that's too much even for him to pull."

"Then why did he use an assassination jutsu on you?" She asked.

"I don't know, but it couldn't have been to kill me." He insisted.

"Why do you believe that Naruto-kun?"

"What am I _supposed_ to believe Hinata? That Sasuke, my own teammate, was actually trying to kill me of his own free will? That he was actually choosing to end our friendship? I can't believe that." He said, then added to himself quietly. "I don't _want_ to believe that."

Hinata caught that and leaned to him, taking ahold of his hand despite her blush from doing so. "Naruto-kun, I know this is unpleasant, but something isn't true simply because you _want_ it to be. I know this hurts you, but you should consider the possibility that Sasuke-san really did intend to kill you."

Naruto withdrew his hand, hurting her a bit at his small rejection of her. "Even if you're right it doesn't matter; he's still here so I can change him so that this doesn't happen again. Why does it matter to you, anyways? Why does it matter if Sasuke tried to kill me or not?" Hinata tried to withdraw into herself, hesitating to answer, but Naruto wouldn't have any of that. "If you have a reason to care, then at least be brave enough to tell me why you care."

"I... I don't... I... I don't want..." She stuttered quickly.

"Can you please speak up Hinata?" He asked, a bit bothered by her quietness here.

After a brief moment Hinata, in a display that was completely unlike her, snapped. "I DON'T WANT YOU TO DIE NARUTO-KUN! I CARE ABOUT YOU TOO MUCH TO SEE YOU GET KILLED! IF YOU WERE TO DIE I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO WITH MYSELF!" She shouted, forcing herself to be louder but losing control over her own volume when she forced it.

Naruto looked at her and was stunned silent; he wondered who was the girl standing before him and what had happened to the quiet girl that was the Hinata he knew. Hinata blushed even more after that outburst and looked out the window to avoid making a further fool of herself.

"Hinata...?" He gently called to her, but she didn't respond. "Hinata, what did you mean by that?"

She was lightly shaking a bit. "Naruto-kun, you almost died on that mission... do you even understand what that even means?"

"Yeah... that kinda comes with the job, Hinata." He remarked.

"This was different. You almost died, all because you tried to bring back someone who you thought wasn't going to try to kill you. Did you think Neji-nii-san wasn't trying to kill you in the chuunin exams? Did you think he wasn't trying to kill _me_?"

"No, I did see that." He told her.

Now Hinata looked at him, tears starting to fall from her eyes slowly. "You tell me you don't believe Sasuke-san was trying to kill you, and you say the main reason you believe this is mostly because you don't want to believe the alternative. What if he _was_ trying? What if he tries again? Are you going to leave yourself open because you want to believe he's just playing around?"

"But-"

"No Naruto-kun, no buts. Remember how mad you got when Neji-nii-san almost killed me?" She asked, and he nodded. "The thought that Sasuke-san tried that to you is making me just as mad, and hearing you defend him hurts me as much as you would be hurt if I had defended Neji-nii-san to you right after it happened."

Naruto was taken aback by this as Hinata did have a point. Neji's attempt to murder Hinata during the Chunin Exams was one of the few times in his life where Naruto admitted he was genuinely pissed at someone. Everything Neji had done or said was so wrong and offensive that it was impossible not to get mad at if you were a decent person. But he never though someone would feel the same way towards someone if he had been in Hinata's place in that situation. Most of the time, he believed that most people wouldn't really care enough to do anything about his death. Some would cry, but none would swear to get back at his killer like he swore to get back at Neji.

But was he wrong? Would people actually be so pissed at someone for killing him that they would get back at him? And, in this case, would Hinata really be one of them?

"Naruto-kun, the fact is Sasuke-san tried to kill you. Whether he was influenced or not doesn't matter to me, no more than whether or not Neji-nii-san was influenced mattered to you. He tried to kill you! KILL you! It makes me so mad right now I just want to go to him and hit him with everything I've got, like you did with Neji-nii-san. When you defend him, it's like you're saying you were _supposed_ to die."

"Hinata..." He quietly said, stunned that this shy quiet girl could not only desire the pain of another, but would do so if it meant avenging him of all people.

"Naruto-kun, if he tried it once, he could try it again. Please, I know you don't want to, but don't let your guard down. Don't pretend Sasuke-san was just playing around. If he tries it again, if he succeeds in killing you..." She stopped and found it hard to talk, as if choking on her brewing sobs.

"What will you do?" He asked.

On a roll, Hinata got closer to him and looked him right in the eye. "I'd kill him. Then kill myself. I can't live in a world without you Naruto-kun. If I outlive you Naruto-kun, I have nothing to live for. You have no idea how much you mean to me Naruto-kun."

"Then why don't you tell me?" He asked to test her.

Blushing, but not as much as she usually does, Hinata felt that she had crossed a point of no return and that she had to tell him. And to be perfectly honest, she didn't think she wanted to return. What if Naruto didn't survive his next mission? What if she didn't? She didn't want to outlive him, but she didn't want to regret not taking this opportunity either.

Hinata took a deep breath and mustered what little courage she had at that moment before she finally said one four-word sentence that, to everyone who had noted the Hyuga Heiress' feelings, was a long time coming.

"Naruto-kun... I love you." Hinata confessed, then actually felt herself get lighter for saying it.

It was as if, with that one sentence, the chains around Hinata's confidence had just shattered and the weight of her self-doubt had suddenly lifted off her shoulders.

"I love you. You don't have to say you love me now, I won't be upset if you don't love me yet or even if you never do. But I want you know how I feel and I _want_ to be by your side, whatever that may turn out to be. Can you at least give me a chance before you decide what you want to do?"

Naruto didn't know what to say and, to be honest, no one would've been able to blame him. A girl he had always thought of as a wallflower, a girl he thought of as just a little weird, had just confessed that she LOVED him, turning into almost a different person just to say those words. None of the things he knew, and none of the things he had been through in his life, could have prepared him for this. And if that wasn't strange enough, she was okay with him not returning the sentiment for the rest of their lives as long as he at least made an effort to learn about her before deciding what he wanted and thought about her.

As of that moment Naruto had a better chance of finishing the test of the first round of the Chunin Exams and getting all of the questions right than knowing what to say to Hinata after this bombshell.

All of a sudden there was another knock at the door, forcing the two to break eye contact, and allowing Naruto to actually begin to ATTEMPT to comprehend what Hinata had just told him, and look at who was now here. The door opened and in walked Kurenai. "Hi you two. How are things?"

"We're good Kurenai-sensei." Hinata greeted.

"Yeah, we are." Naruto made himself say. "What brings you here?"

"Oh nothing. I was just checking up on Kiba and Shikamaru told me Hinata was here so I thought I'd see what was going on with you two."

"Nothing's going on," Naruto said, a bit too defensively.

Kurenai arched an eyebrow at his way of saying it, and noted Hinata looked like she was hiding something. 'Hmm... I guess she must've finally told him. Well, even if she did, it's between the two of them and not something I should get involved in. Since it looks like the boy wouldn't know what to do with her even if given an instruction manual. That said, that was something that Hinata needed to say and something Naruto had to learn so it's definitely for the best for both of them... especially if those rumors I've heard recently are true...' The genjutsu master thought to herself before turning her attention to her student,

"Then come with me, Hinata. it's time for our team's lesson, or your's and Shino's seeing as how Kiba won't be going anywhere for now. Unless you'd rather spend more time with Naruto here."

This was one of the hardest decisions in Hinata's life. She didn't want to disobey her sensei, but leaving Naruto so soon after pouring out her heart would devalue her effort. Yet if she stayed, how would she explain it to Kurenai without making her suspicious or maybe even upset? And if she stayed, that would amount to putting Naruto on the spot and making him feel like he had to give her an answer to something he didn't even know how to think about right now, much less what he would think of this revelation

Sensing her internal conflict, Naruto decided he needed to help her in some way. "It's okay, Hinata. You told me you want to get stronger too, and this is part of it. Besides, it's not like you won't have any time to come back if you want to right?"

Hinata wasn't sure what to say, but she nodded. She knew he needed time to process the big revelation she had just given him, and she didn't want to come across as needy or fangirlish by making him feel like he had to respond on her terms. "Alright, I'll be back later today Naruto-kun."

Hinata was led out of the room, giving the whiskered blonde one last hopeful glance before departing. However Kurenai didn't leave when her student did. "Naruto, I know that we've never really talked before, but there's something I wanted to tell you." She sighed for a brief moment. "I know that it must have been hard having to treat your own teammate like a dangerous criminal, especially one who tried to kill you, but you still did the right thing, given what would've happened to your teammates if you had done nothing. Most bad things happen not because people are bad, but because good people don't know what the right thing to do is and make mistakes or do nothing at all. But here you did do the right thing, even if you may think you didn't."

"Kurenai-sensei, how do you know what the right thing is?" He asked, and secretly he wasn't just asking about the mission. He was asking in terms of knowing what to do about Hinata.

While she didn't say it explicitly, Kurenai clearly understood the other, more hidden, meaning behind that question.

"Most of the time you don't. The problem with doing the right thing is that it's easier to know what that is when you're not the one that has to do it. When you do have to do it, people tend to overthink it or can't choose between morals or personal gain. I believe that the best way to know what the right thing to do is to ask yourself what would you think is right if you weren't involved. If it had been someone else who had to bring back the Uchiha, what would you have told them to do that would have been any different than what you did do?"

Naruto didn't know what to say, but her point did make sense to him. "I don't think it would have been different."

"That's the idea. Anytime you feel you don't know what the right thing to do is, just ask yourself what would you say if it was someone elses choice, then take your own advice."

With that, the older kunoichi left the room, and Naruto was still as confused as he was when this had started. But he felt like knowing what to do would come easier to him now.

[Council Chambers, Konoha]

_Meanwhile..._

As Naruto was dealing with the possible reality regarding Sasuke and the bombshell of Hinata's confession another conversation was about to begin; this conversation, unbeknownst to the young jinchuriki, was to be the first in a quickly succession of events would drastically change his life forever and was being held in the chambers of the ruling body of Konoha.

Gathered in these chambers, which was one of the most secure rooms in all of Konoha, was the collective governing body of the village. This collective body consisted of four major components.

First there was the Hokage, the true ruler of Konoha and everyone in it. The Hokage had more power than anyone and was the only actual authority over things that affected the overall village. In essence the other three bodies existed to ensure that the Hokage either did not abuse this power, use it uninformed, or was left in a position where they couldn't use it. Currently this position was held by the Godaime Hokage, a woman named Tsunade, a descendant of both the Senju and Uzumaki clans who, alongside both Jiraiya and Orochimaru, was part of a legendary trio of shinobi known as the Sannin.

Then there were the elder advisers, the smallest and probably least important body there was. The position was given mainly as a way to honor the few shinobi that were able to reach old age, who were respected for their achievement, and because their experience was invaluable in many situations. In other situations, however, the advice of the elders was dated and obsolete in the mostly youth-oriented ninja world the times were always changing, as well as the people and things within said times, so they were rarely the first group approached for view points. Currently this position was held by Mitokada Homura and Utatane Koharu, the teammates of the late Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Next up, there was the shinobi council with consisted of the heads of the clans of Konoha, the director of the Anbu division, and a couple of other high-ranking members within the ranks Konoha shinobi. Their job was to both oversee the clans, the ANBU Black Ops Division, and the rest of the Konoha-nins to ensure there were no issues within their ranks that could pose a possible threat to the village, and ensure that the laws of Konoha were upheld. Some notable members were Hyuuga Hiashi, Nara Shikaku, and Shimura Danzou who was currently filling in for the Uchiha despite not being a member of the clan himself, never mind the fact that there wasn't an Uchiha Clan to begin as there was only one, very problematic Uchiha left in Konoha.

And finally there was the civilian council, the one group that had the least power in the village among the three representative bodies of the council, barely a step above the elder advisors in terms of actual power. Konoha was a village that both housed and was the center of the host country's military like the other Hidden Villages, with the host country being the Land of Fire in this case, and was sort of like a gigantic barracks, and that's the central role. Despite this, however, Konoha was still a village and had all the responsibilities and concerns of one insofar as the civilians, who provided many important or desirable services for the shinobi and others, were concerned. As the shinobi were often too busy dealing with missions and legal issues to oversee the overall maintenance of the village itself it was the job of the civilian council to keep an eye on the well-being of Konoha's utilities and the non-ninja economics.

Tsunade, seated in the hokage chair of the room, looked around the room before calling the meeting to order. "Everyone, now that the members of the Sasuke Retrieval Team are now in stable condition, meaning that I have some time to be away from the hospital, I feel it is time to inform you on what has recently happened. As you all know, Uchiha Sasuke defected the village to join Orochimaru and his village, Otogakure. The team sent out to bring him back before he could reach Otogakure was successful, with Sasuke being detained for the time being. Four of the five member of the team we sent were seriously injured, with two of those members being in critical condition, but they're all out of harm's way and they will all make a full recovery, though it make take some time for a couple of them."

"That's good to hear." Akimichi Chouza said. The Akimichi clan head was one of the first to hear about his son Choji's predicament, the young member of Team 10 being one of the two team members that was in critical condition after the mission.

"Right now Sasuke is also undergoing treatment in the prison wing of the hospital, having been injured after he forced one of the members of the team to use force to stop his attempt to defect. I have granted visitation right to the members of his team but only if they follow proper channels first. The others involved in the mission have not been placed under any restrictions beyond that the hospital itself places on it's patients. For the time being, however, I must insist that you avoid making unauthorized visits to Uzumaki Naruto until he's released."

"May we ask why?" Hiashi asked. "I mean it's not I'm saying that any of us here were planning to visit the boy but that's a bit uncalled for."

"This is mostly a safety precaution, and something for you to tell those under your care on my behalf. The reason for this is that Naruto took on a lot of injuries in his effort to subdue Sasuke. Precautions must be made to ensure that the seal has not been damaged from Sasuke's actions."

"Are we in danger of the fox being released?" A concerned civilian asked.

When Sarutobi was put back into power, a couple of civilian councilmembers took the opportunity to try and seize more power in the village and to unleash more torment upon a young Naruto who's life they had already made a lonely hell. They had attempted to destroy certain information from the village archives, attempted to change the Academy curriculum to be more civilian-friendly, and of course some of the civilians attempted to spur on propaganda against Naruto when he was helpless despite the Fourth Hokages wishes. Thankfully Sarutobi and the ninja, with the higher-ups not having the blind hatred towards Naruto that the civilains and some of those within their ranks had (though some clan heads were annoyed by Naruto's pranks whenever he happened to be directed those pranks towards their clan), had been able to catch these civilians before they could achieve their goals and make an example of them. The civilians now knew better than to push their luck in the presence of people trained to fight others and who pushed their luck all the time and were able to do it better than the civilians ever could. But this didn't necessarily mean they liked Naruto, no they were just better at holding their tongues regarding the subject of him.

Tsunade sighed before answering the civilian's question.

"If that were the issue I think the Kyubi would have broken out by now." Tsunade told them. "This is more a precaution so an actual seal expert can make that call for us and determine any effects it could have on Naruto himself. Also, this brings me to something that I'm hesitant to present, but must do."

This got everyone's attention. Tsunade wasn't the kind of person to hesitate in speaking her mind. Whenever the Slug Sannin was uneasy about something she was about to discuss, as she apparently was in this case, that was an ominous sign of whatever was to come next.

"Rest assured that we're not in any danger, but this something that does concern everyone both in this room and in the village. Several years ago my predecessor and sensei, the Sandaime Hokage, made a deal with an old ally of our village. Now that ally has come to collect what we owe them, so to speak." Tsunade started. "It's a bit difficult for me to explain this on my own so I'll let the people in question explain why they're here on their own behalf."

The door opened and in walked four people. They were none other than the same four Uzumaki who met with Sarutobi seven years ago, looking completely unchanged by the time that had passed since that first meeting, led by the feared One-Shot Kikyo just like they were back then. The four were acting professionally but it was clear to the member of the council that were not here for friendly chit-chat.

"Everyone, I present to your representatives of our allied village, Uzushiogakure. And, to be more specific, the representatives of the Uzumaki clan as well." Tsunade told everyone.

"Wait, Uzumaki clan?" Inuzuka Tsume asked. "I thought they were all wiped out."

"Indeed.. and I thought the same for the entirety of Uzushio." Aburame Shibi added. "If this was not the case, then why were we misinformed?"

"Because we wanted everyone to believe we were destroyed beyond those who needed to know otherwise. And since we're ninja we acted accordingly. Tell me, Aburame, what is a ninja's greatest tool?" Kikyo asked, clearly recognizing the attire of the clan of insect-handlers.

"Deception. But to be fair, if you are our allies why would you deceive the rest us and not the Hokage?" Shibi replied.

"Gotta admit he's right." Yamanaka Inoichi added. "While being deceptive is a good thing for a ninja, no decent person is intentionally deceptive to an ally."

"If you are our allies, you wouldn't have deceived us either. Yet you have." Kikyo stated coldly.

"That's quite an accusation." Tsume stated with apprehension. "Can you back it up?"

"Yes, we can. That is the whole point of this visit." Miya stated.

"How are you even able to visit? Not to be rude, but how have you been able to survive all this time without us knowing?" Hiashi asked as the Hyuga clan head, while not wanting to offend the envoy, was clearly bewildered by such an affront by the Uzumaki. Hiashi suddenly realized something as he turned to look at Tsunade. "For that matter, how long have you known about them Hokage-sama?"

"I only learned a couple days ago, right after I had sent out the team to retrieve Sasuke. They wished to not speak until they knew Naruto was back and out of harm's way. As he has now regained consciousness and is recovering in the hospital without anything significant developments for now, that will have to suffice since this could not be delayed much longer." Tsunade answered before turning to Kikyo. "Now, let them tell their part."

Kikyo nodded in a show of appreciation before she continued speaking.

"Thank you Hokage-sama. Council of Konoha, I believe introductions are in order. I am Uzumaki Kikyo, head of the envoy from Uzushio and acting head of the Uzumaki Clan. The people standing beside me are Uzumaki Miya, Uzumaki Jun, and Uzumaki Rea. Seven years ago we had a meeting with your previous Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, regarding the well-being of the sole member of our clan in this village, Uzumaki Naruto, and we told him that we'd return when a new Hokage was put into power to reevaluate his situation. So here we are."

Upon the mention of Naruto several of the civilian councilmembers been talking amongst themselves, shocked by this revelation.

"Wait, you mean to say that Naruto actually is a member of a clan?" One of the civilians asked. "I was told he was given that name in honor of your clan, but there was no blood connection."

"Indeed, and no offense to you or your companions, Kikyo-dono, but from what I can see none of you even look like the boy." Another civilian pointed out.

"That's because he took after his father Minato in terms of appearance, though the shape of his face is definitely that if his mother's. Honestly, I'm surprised more people don't notice the resemblance given that a giant bust of his father's face is carved into that mountain standing above your village." Rea commented.

Most of the civilians didn't hear Rea's comment beyond the mention of that name, fully aware that Rea was referring to Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage. It didn't take long for them to put two-and-two together and realized that Rea was saying that Naruto, rather than being the human form of the Kyubi (as some of the civilians had once believed up until Naruto's successful defense against over a rampaging Ichibi during the Oto-Suna Invasion), was the only child of the revered Hokage. Most of the civilians, too stunned to even respond turned to look questioningly at Tsunade who nodded in confirmation to Rea's claim.

As the realization sunk in, for most of the civilians, that they had been making the life of Minato's own son a living hell for over a decade the shinobi, who were already aware of the truth, and those civilians who were able to snap out of their shock continued questioning the Uzumaki/Uzushio envoy.

"While I will confirm Rea-dono's claim, how is it that you know the identities of his parents?" Nara Shikaku asked.

"Are we not entitled to know the parents of our own kin?" Kikyo asked in a challenging manner.

"How did you find out?" Shibi asked.

"His mother is my sister." Rea pointed out. "Did you really think she wouldn't tell us that she was with child?"

"To be frank, we didn't think she had any family outside of Konoha back then, much less now." Inoichi responded. "So where were you all this time if not here? If Naruto is of your clan I would've imagined that you would want to see him more frequently."

"When Uzushio was attacked and overpowered, we left our enemies unaware of the fact that we were warned of the impending attack beforehand and that most of the people of Uzushio, our clan included, had already evacuated to secret 'panic centers' that we built throughout the Land of Fire and the many small islands surrounding the Land of Whirlpools. We stayed in those bunkers until the heat had died down, then went back to Uzushio, or what was left of it by then. Coming to Konoha would have been too obvious and would've destroyed any chance we had to rebuild our village," Kikyo explained.

"So you were playing dead so to speak?" A civilian asked.

"Yes, we were. And we've been rebuilding our village since that time. We had to do it in secret, however, so that the people who attacked us would not know of it lest they try to finish what they had started." Jun added.

Kikyo cleared her throat. "Anyway, that is not the issue. The issue is we did entrust some of the members of our clan, of whom only Naruto is left alive, to this village, and, now that we've evaluated his current conditions, we are no longer satisfied with letting Konoha have Naruto, who is also the last living member of our clan's ruling family, under its jurisdiction. We now intend to bring him to Uzushio... as we should've done years ago."

"You can't do that!" Several voices said all at once.

"Why not? Why should Konoha be allowed to keep him? Why should we not have Naruto come to his rightful home?" Kikyo challenged.

"She's right. Besides, from what I've seen from the people in this village, especially among you civilians, it looks and sounds like you guys _want_ him to go away. Now you have that opportunity to get him out of your sight and you're refusing to let him go?" Rea proclaimed.

"You do realize that Naruto is the jinchuuriki of the Kyubi, correct? That alone is all the reason we need to keep him here." Danzou stated.

All four Uzumaki gave him dark looks. "If him being a jinchuuriki meant anything to this village, he would be stronger. Not what he is now."

"What do you mean?"

Rea handed Kikyo some papers. "For starters, it says here that Naruto failed the Academy graduation test three times, which is in this village the legal maximum. But if this was truly normal, then Naruto would be no least then two years older than the genin he is partnered with. Yet it's confirmed he's younger than them both, same with others dubbed the Rookie Twelve by those that know the genin."

"How is this a sign of ill treatment?" Tsume asked.

"Simple, the mere fact that Naruto took the graduation exam more than once yet is still the same general age as those that were in the same class he did graduate in proves one thing. Someone allowed Naruto to take the graduation test early, and more than once. This wouldn't be a problem if Naruto was an exceptional student, but that was not the case. And I doubt any teacher would let him take it if he just asked without allowing others in the class the same offer, which I have reports saying did not happen. Logically, the only explanation is that someone in the Academy was trying to get him expelled from the system permanently and make it be Naruto's own fault."

No one could argue that point. With Mizuki's actions known to them all, it wasn't hard to imagine others in the Academy, minus Iruka given his bond with Naruto, had tried their own methods to sabotage Naruto. Besides, once it was actually said, it was hard to imagine Naruto being allowed to take the test more than once when he was the same age as the other Rookies. If it had been truly fair, he'd have to be older than Neji.

"While a good point, this is hardly proof of mistreatment." Koharu stated.

Kikyo leafed through the papers. "Kept away from Uzumaki property and forced to live in a substandard apartment, put on a team based purely on grades rather than talents or potential, with a sensei known to be late to everything and two teammates who have little to no concern about his well-being, kept ignorant of clan heritage and identity of parents, not allowed in several public establishments under pretense of manager's rights to refuse service up until the time of the last chunin exams which he was allowed to participate in after only one true mission which he was ill-prepared for and without training that went beyond tree-walking, and his legal godfather hasn't even bothered to see him until a month ago _and _who is currently keeping the fact he is Naruto's godfather a secret from him. I could go on until the next three counting the list of examples if you insist."

"We admit that he has not gotten the most preferential treatment, but you cannot ignore the fact he is a jinchuuriki." Homura claimed. "If we were to treat him better than anyone else, it might go to his head."

"Why didn't you consider that when you treated Sasuke better than anyone else?" Rea asked.

"Pardon?" Homura asked.

"When you think about it, Sasuke's treatment is the exact opposite of what Kikyo said about Naruto. Allowed to live on his clan's property, placed on a team specifically suited to his needs above others, allowed into any establishment with owners giving him discounts not given to others, and not only that, allowed to be late to the final rounds of the chuunin exams, something that would not have been considered had it been someone else late. Again, if treating someone better than others goes to their head, what's your excuse for that?"

"For starters, Sasuke lost his entire clan in front of him at a young age. He needed something to help keep his spirits up." Koharu claimed.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but Naruto lost his family at an even younger age, the day he was born. By your logic he would also need to keep his spirits up." Jun pointed out.

"Indeed. He needed a reason to be loyal to this village, and right now, I wouldn't be surprised if the only reason he felt loyalty was out of not love but obligation." Kikyo declared.

"Why would that matter?" Danzou asked.

Kikyo gave the bandaged warhawk a flat look. "Love has an affect on an Uzumaki, and even our few remaining relatives in the Senju Clan here in Konoha to a lesser extent, that you couldn't possibly understand. An Uzumaki motivated by love is on par with an Uchiha motivated by grief, while the effect that grief would has on us would be no different from a normal person."

If Sasuke was anything to go by, that was quite a comparison.

"That does not matter, for he loves the village." Danzou reminded them.

"Does he? Does he really?" Miya asked.

"Of course, he goes on and on about how he wants to become Hokage someday." Koharu said, and everyone in the room nodded. "That must mean he loves the village."

"That only means he wants to be in charge. It does not mean he loves Konoha." Miya clarified.

"Who would want to be in charge of a village they didn't love?" Shikaku asked.

"Someone who doesn't know what he's fighting for. Tell me, if Naruto knew what you were keeping from him, would he still have faith in this village?" Kikyo asked.

"He will learn when he is ready." Danzou told them.

"And when is that?"

"Excuse me?"

"When will he be ready?" Kikyo repeated. "What standard must he meet before no more secrets will be kept from him?"

"With all due respect, and while I don't want to sound like I agree with Danzo, that is Konoha business." Tsunade told the redhead woman, with her open attack on Danzo going relatively unnoticed by the council as she would say something along similar lines at every meeting.

"Very well, but we are still adamant in our claim. We have decided that it is time for Uzumaki Naruto to come to Uzushio and be placed under our care, and we are here to take him to Uzushio as per the first condition of our agreement with the Sandaime Hokage. You can make this much easier on yourselves by not interfering with this."

"Well you came here for nothing, for you can't have him." Danzou interjected.

Kikyo gave him another flat look. "Perhaps your ears are as damaged as the right side of your entire body. I did not say we are here to negotiate terms like we did, against our better judgment, the last time we came here. We will not compromise this time around. We are taking him with us like we should have done that day, whether or not you give us your approval."

"What kind of nonsense is this?" One of the civilians said loudly. "You say that we've not taken proper care of Uzumaki Naruto but, despite knowing of the boy for about seven years up to this point, you have done absolutely nothing for him in that time! And you think you can just up and take him from this this village just because you share the same name?!"

"You want the boy to trust you, but yet you keep holding things over his head like it's leverage? That is bound to backfire someday. Not like it matters as this is Naruto's last day as a shinobi of Konoha. That is our final word on this matter as Uzumaki Naruto's fellow clansman, no ifs, ands, or buts." Kikyo remarked.

"And what makes you think you can do more for him then Konoha can and has?" Hiashi questioned, the Hyuga clan head being among those trying to defuse the heated standoff but not wanting to give in to the envoy's demands, as he and the other shinobi saw them.

"There is a reason our clan is feared by our enemies. With us, he will be in no different of a situation than the one he's in now in that regard and at least we can raise him the way Kushina and her husband would've wanted." Miya answered.

"Being feared is not necessarily a good thing." Tsunade pointed out.

"Only if that fear comes back to haunt you, something that will not happen to him in Uzushio. Do you have reason to believe that he won't be better off with us?" Kikyo countered.

"That is a moot point. Naruto belongs here in Konoha. This is his home, everyone he knows and cares about is here, and it was his father's wish that he protect Konoha." Tsunade told them, trying to think of Naruto's best interests instead of just playing a game of tug-of-war with another village and him as the rope.

"Before this conversation escalates into anything worse than that I think I know how this can be settled in a very easy way." Miya spoke up, causing everyone in the room listen in. "Let's have Naruto himself decide what he wants, after he's heard what both villages can offer."

The council discussed this suggestion amongst themselves while Shizune, Tsunade's assistant who was watching the proceedings by her master's side, approached her longtime master.

"I think maybe we should follow Miya-dono's advice; if anything he should be the one to decide what he's going do, and it's unlikely he'll choose to leave anyway." Shizune suggested to which Tsunade sighed.

"Very well, then. We'll let Naruto be the one who makes the final decision." Tsunade declared even as she got the sinking feeling that this was not going to end well.


	3. Chapter 2

**Ninja of the Spiral**

**Chapter 2 – How Little We Know**

[Konoha Hospital, Konoha]

_Current Time…._

While people had been talking about Naruto, when evening came he got another visitor. His teammate Sakura walked in, making him smile. "Hi Sakura-chan!"

The pinkette failed to return the expression. Instead, her face was contorted into one of shock and fear. She looked at Naruto as if he was somehow Gaara instead. "Naruto, what happened to you? Who did this to you?"

"Oh this? This is nothing to worry about."

Sakura frowned. "Then why are you in a hospital?"

"No idea, I woke up here. But I'm fine." He insisted. Naturally Sakura was not convinced.

"Naruto, who hurt you?" Sakura pressed.

"A little bit of this came from Orochimaru's goons, but it was mainly Sasuke when I had to fight him." He carefully admitted, knowing that saying stuff about Sasuke around her was like walking into a mine field.

Sakura gasped and covered her mouth.

"He did this to you?" she asked in disbelief. When she asked Naruto to bring Sasuke back, she knew a fight was inevitable and it might go badly, but thinking about it and actually hearing it that happened are two different things, especially when the results were even worse than she had imagined.

"But why would he do that?"

"I'm not sure, but if you ask Hinata, she would say that he was really trying to kill me." Naruto told her.

"She said that?" Sakura asked.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah... Look, I don't want to believe that Sasuke would really go that far just as much as you, Sakura-chan... but after what Hinata said to me... what if she's right? What if Sasuke really was trying to kill me?"

"I don't know... but I'm going to ask him myself later." Sakura said firmly, with a look that said for once she wasn't going to listen with her fangirl filter on. After a moment her face softened and she looked at Naruto with what he could only assume was regret. "I'm sorry I made you go through all that Naruto."

"Hey, don't blame yourself for this." He said. "It wasn't like the mission came from you, it was Baa-chan's orders. Besides, I would have brought him back even if you didn't ask me to do it. Remember what Kakashi-sensei said about abandoning friends?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, but I think Sasuke-kun might need a reminder."

"Anyway, irregardless of what Sasuke was trying to do, when I'm out of here I'll make sure it never happens again. Believe it."

Sakura smiled and chuckled, for once comforted by his irritating catch phrase. "Thank you, Naruto." She then turned away.

"Where you going?" He asked.

Sakura turned only halfway back to him, allowing him to only see half of her face. "To give a reminder."

[Hospital Hallway, Konoha]

_Moments Later..._

Her training done, Hinata was on her way back to her favorite blonde. 'He's bound to still be confused on what to think regarding me. I need to help him, and I can do that by spending time with him and letting him get to know the real me more. Then, maybe he will like me more than Sakura. Even if he still likes her, though, I won't leave his side, no matter what.'

And speaking of the devil Hinata actually saw Sakura walking down the hall towards her, making both girls stop and look at each other for a brief moment before walking up to each other. "Hi Hinata, let me guess, you're here for Naruto?"

"Yes, and you're here for Sasuke-san?" Hinata asked with a noticeable frown.

Sakura raised an eyebrow, since this was rather strange for the Hyuuga heiress. "Yes?" She answered awkwardly, as if not sure she should have said that as she realized something was definitely different about Hinata.

"Figures as much. Bet you haven't even thought of seeing Naruto-kun yet." Hinata accused.

Sakura frowned. "I have so! In fact, I was just there talking to him. Ask him yourself if you don't believe me."

"Believe me, I will." Hinata said, only to see Sakura grin. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing really, but hearing you say 'believe me' really reminded me of Naruto right then. And I'm impressed you're finally showing a little backbone regarding fighting for your man. Good for you Hinata."

Apparently Sakura was very quick to accept and adapt to Hinata's change in personality.

"Well, someone should let Naruto-kun know how important he is." Hinata added, trying to sound modest.

"Important in general, or important to you?" Sakura asked curiously.

Hinata fidgeted a bit; even after her confession there are somethings about Hinata that remained unchanged. "More the last one if I had to answer it."

"I take that means you finally confessed to him? Well, I'm happy for you. Did he say yes? Are you two a couple now?" Sakura asked, a bit excited by the idea that a new couple might be forming here.

Hinata frowned. "Why? Excited to think he won't get in the way of you and Sasuke-san now?"

Sakura jerked back while frantically waving her hands nervously. "What? No. Honestly that didn't even cross my mind. Seriously Hinata, can't I honestly be happy for you?"

"You never cared about it before. Why now?"

Sakura, having stopped her frantic waving, put her hands on her hips. "You might find this hard to believe Hianta, but personally, I always hoped you would find the courage in you to stand up for Naruto and make your claim. Seriously, I'm happy for you that now you can, and if he said yes, then I'm even happier for you. This has nothing to do with me so I'm not making it about me."

"Good."

"So, don't keep me in suspense. Did you really tell him? What did he say?" Sakura repeated.

"I told him everything, I held nothing back. And it actually felt good now that I finally did it. As for Naruto-kun... he's confused, but I expected him to be. So I didn't tell him he had to give me an answer right away."

"That was probably the smartest thing you could have done there." Sakura mused. "In hindsight, maybe I should have done the same with Sasuke-kun. It's a shame everyone was so competitive with him that it was kind of hard not trying to grab him first and right away." She then shrugged. "Oh well, I need to go see him about something, so I won't keep you from your man Hinata."

"You're going to see Sasuke-san?" Hinata asked, an almost inperceptible frown on her face. "I think I'd like to go with you."

Sakura sure did not see that coming. "Huh? You do? But why?"

"I have a few things I want to say to him. Things Naruto-kun won't say."

'Considering how banged up Naruto looked, and how Sasuke-kun is the one responsible for it, I can't honestly fault her for sticking up for her crush.' The pinkette told herself. 'Though this is a side to Hinata that I've never seen before. How do I know she's not going to try and actually hurt Sasuke-kun?'

"I'll see if I can let you come with me, but if you can, understand that I won't hesitate to stop you if you try to hurt Sasuke-kun." Sakura said, thinking this was the best way to get her answer. Hinata nodded in understanding, and the two girls proceeded to a different section of the hospital. "By the way Hinata, if you don't mind my asking, what made you decide now was the time to make your stand for Naruto?"

"He almost died this time." Hinata said, sounding like she was about to cry a bit.

Sakura put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to console her. "It's okay, Hinata; regardless of what happened he's still alive, and now you have your chance to be with him. Trust me, you don't want to miss the opportunity when it comes." She recalled her offer to Sasuke when he was leaving Konoha, and even though she knew when she made the offer to go with him that it was wrong, it was a chance she couldn't pass up. To her, Sasuke was worth fighting for, like how Naruto was to Hinata. It wasn't her smartest idea, but even now she didn't regret having it.

"I won't, I've known for years I needed to do something, and since graduation I've known that more. I guess I just thought I had more time, and here I was proven wrong. Naruto-kun's strong, but he's not invincible. No more than I am. I can't wait to become brave enough to be with him, seeing that he needs someone now."

"Good for you." Sakura said.

Nothing more was said until they got to the room, guarded by an Anbu. Sakura took out a written pass and photo ID to let them know she could enter. "I'm afraid she can't go in." The Anbu said, referring to Hinata.

"I'll take responsibility for anything she does." Sakura said.

The Anbu didn't look like he knew what to decide. "Be quick." He said after a moment, unlocking the door.

* * *

_Elsewhere..._

As Sakura and Hinata prepared to confront Sasuke a group of mysterious figures were meeting in an undisclosed room somewhere in Konoha to meet with another mysterious figure who stood before them speaking. After giving the people a series of orders the mystery person finished their apparent briefing.

"You know your objective, you know your target, you know what to do if any obstacles show up. Get to work, and do not disappoint me." The figure said to the group of shadowy figures who nodded in understanding before vanishing.

These people, even as they headed towards their objective, were unaware of the chain events they would help spark...

* * *

[Prison Wing, Konoha Hospital]

In a secluded and heavily guarded room, complete with metal bars on the window, another patient was waking up. As he did, he noticed one thing above all else, being awake was painful.

'Damn... it still hurts to stay awake even after three days... Maybe Shikamaru is onto something after all with his desire to always sleep.'

'I'll give the dobe credit, he's a worthy rival for me, somehow.' He told himself, opening his eyes and seeing grey-painted walls everywhere and a small barred window on one of them providing some light but not real view outside. 'Taking my two best attacks would have killed even a normal Uchiha, but he still stood and defeated me. I actually kind of hope he's still alive, it'd be a shame to lose such a worthy challenge now.'

The patient was none other then Uchiha Sasuke, who was currently recovering from his injuries after Naruto defeated the Last Uchiha and stopped him from defecting to Orochimaru. As Sasuke tried to avoid losing consciousness he heard the door to his room open and heard an all too familiar voice.

"Good, you're awake."

Sasuke looked to his left despite the ache in his neck. Standing by the door was Haruno Sakura, arms folded, and Hyuuga Hinata, hands on her hips elbows pointing out. Sakura looked like she was genuinely disappointed in Sasuke, a rather strange look for her, and Hinata looked offended and not even trying to hide it.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked, his tone naturally apathetic.

"For starters, you locked away for a long time after I destroy your chakra system so you can never be a ninja again." Hinata hissed

Sasuke blinked in surprise at this since even the relative socially-challenged Uchiha knew enough about the Hyuuga heiress to know that she was as meek as a mouse by reputation. While Sasuke wasn't as concerned with Hinata attacking him, Sakura thought very differently.

"Hinata, don't do something that will get you in trouble." Sakura warned. The white-eyed girl nodded, and the pinkette looked to the last Uchiha. "Sasuke-kun, we have to make this visit short, so I'm just going to ask a single question. Is that okay?" He nodded. "Did you really try to kill Naruto when you saw him?"

Sasuke did not answer right away, but when he did, there was no hesitation. "Yes, I did."

"How could you? What were you thinking?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura, you said you would only ask a _single_ question. That means no follow-ups." Sasuke reminded her.

"Then I'll ask a couple for her." Hinata cut in. "What were you thinking Uchiha? You've never been deprived anything in this village. What made you decide all of a sudden this place wasn't good enough for you anymore? How could you be so selfish as to leave? For that matter, why did you want to kill Naruto-kun? What did he ever do to you?"

Her questions caught Sasuke off guard, and if he was being honest, they made him feel like a dick. "Are you sure you want the answer to that? You're not going to like it."

"I probably won't, but I'm asking for the truth, not happiness." Hinata stated.

Sasuke looked at the ceiling. "You can't understand, no one can. My brother killed my entire clan. I _need_ to kill him, no matter what. I need to do whatever it takes to get strong enough to do that. At least that's what I was thinking at that moment."

"And how does that justify killing Naruto-kun?" Hinata added.

"For one he was trying to stop me from going to Orochimaru; at that time I thought going to Orochimaru would be the best way to get the power I needed as quickly as possible and since Naruto was getting in my way killing him would at least let me go on unhindered. And there's another why I tried to kill him, the reason why I asked you if you were sure you wanted to know. Itachi has a more powerful Sharingan than my own, the Mangekyo Sharingan; any Uchiha strong enough can acquire that power but to do requires doing something very... dark. I tried to get it by killing Naruto." He replied, taking that moment to look back to them. "In order to get the Mangekyo, an Uchiha has to kill the one they call their best friend... I'm sure you can connect the dots there."

Hinata and Sakura both gasped. For Hinata, the fact he would be willing to kill Naruto just to one-up his own brother was horrendous, no different than if Neji had killed Hanabi just to mess with her back during his fate mindset. For Sakura, the idea of betraying your best friend for personal gain hit a sore spot with her. The scale between what she did with Ino and what Sasuke did to Naruto were different, but in principle the same thing, but even then neither Sakura or Ino would've gone as far as what Sasuke tried to do.

Hinata clenched her fist. "How...? Get stronger eyes... by killing your best friend? What kind of sick person are you to even consider this course of action?!"

"If you were me, wouldn't you at least consider it?" Sasuke tested.

"No. If the thought of killing your best friend for power doesn't break your heart, if to you that's a price worth paying, then you have no right to call that person a friend of any kind. You want to kill your brother? That's _your_ business, not Naruto-kun's. You have no right to make him spill blood for you in your quest for someone else's blood."

Sasuke closed his eyes, an earlier discussion coming back to him thanks to her. "You might be right. Someone told me that a couple of days ago. After hearing what they had to say... let's just say that they did a good job making me question my choices in life."

"Oh yeah? What did they say?" Hinata asked to which Sasuke sighed before answering.

"Right... You better sit down for this. You're gonna need it with what I'm going to tell you." He warned.

_**(Flashback)**_

_Two Days Earlier..._

The first day after being brought back, Sasuke, who had woken up not too long after his forced return to Konoha, was stewing in his hospital bed. 'Dammit, why am I so weak? I should be better than this, better than the dobe. How is it I've made no progress since the Academy? Even Orochimaru's Curse Mark wasn't enough for me to even beat that dobe.'

"You comfy, kid?" An unknown voice asked. Confused, Sasuke looked to the window, where he saw a man he had never seen before seated on the rail, as if he came in from outside. "You better be, since you're not going anywhere for a while."

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Jiraiya, the only sannin you're probably unfamiliar with. Orochimaru and Tsunade weren't the only ones you know. You and I met before, back when you tried to kill your brother. Smooth move by the way, fighting an S-Rank missing-nin who was made an Anbu when he was only 13. That was a big mistake kid."

"Excuse me?!" Sasuke replied. 'This bastard thinks I'm not good enough to kill Itachi?!'

"You heard me, big mistake. For one thing, your brother was barely even paying attention to you. He was giving you a perfect opportunity to catch him off guard, and what did you do? You announced yourself to the world and charged in right in his face. You didn't even try being stealthy. To say nothing of the fact that that opening would've done you no good in the end."

"Shut up! I need to kill him!" The young Uchiha claimed.

"And you had the perfect chance, which you ruined. Not me, not Naruto, _you_. You could have gotten him in his blind spot with a silent strike and been done with it, but no, you stood right where he could see you, waited until he acknowledged your presence, and attacked with a loud and bright move that was clearly easy for a sharingan to predict and counter. Why? It's like you wanted him to kill you instead. Just be glad I was there to get you and Naruto away from harm before Itachi did more damage."

"What right did you have to stop me from getting my revenge?!" Sasuke asked, feeling cheated now because of this old man.

"You were outmatched and going to get yourself killed. Did you want me to let you get killed?" Jiraiya asked back.

"What makes you think I would have died?!"

Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "Gee, I don't know. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Itachi has the power to kill people and he's not afraid to use it? I think you of all people know how strong he is." Sasuke grimaced, unable to refute that. "He showed mercy to you once, but that doesn't mean he'd do it again. I don't know what you've been building up Itachi to be in your head boy, but he's certainty not going to hand you the opportunity to kill him. You had the perfect chance, and you nearly died because your vanity overpowered your objectivity."

"Whatever... Unless you're here just to be a critic why are here?" Sasuke asked, not impressed with his visitor, just confused.

"Just paying a visit, and to say some things you need to hear before you make another big mistake again. Like this failed escapade of yours to join Orochimaru. Are you out of your mind? Seriously kid, what made you say 'Going to a missing-nin for guidance is a great idea'?"

"Shut up! I told you, I need to kill Itachi!"

"Why? You're not in any immediate danger from him. He's not waiting to come back and finish you off. What's the hurry?"

"He needs to die. He killed my entire family."

"And they'll still be dead when you kill him. It doesn't matter if you kill him today, tomorrow, or ten years from now or even never, they'll be just as dead as they were yesterday you know. Killing him won't bring them back." Jiraiya stated.

Sasuke looked away. "You couldn't possibly understand! How could you know what I've been through?!"

"I don't... but that's besides the point. If you listened to others someone might be able to understand; the only reason no one understands you is because you won't let anyone else try kid. You might be surprised, but you're not the only orphan in the world. For crying out loud, Naruto alone should have clued you into that."

Sasuke huffed, but it sounded hollow. "So what?! The dobe couldn't possibly relate to me. He never had a family to begin with!"

Sasuke barely finished that sentence when he sensed a rise in Jiraiya's chakra as the Sannin clenched his fist. This took Sasuke by surprise; why did this guy take so much apparent offense to what he just said? Deciding to not push things any further Sasuke decided to listen to what the Sannin was going to say before saying something that might end up killing him. After he calmed down Jiraiya looked at Sasuke with a stern look in his eyes.

"For an Uchiha with a Sharigan you act like you might as well be blind. Can you even see how much of a hypocrite you're being right now?!" Jiraiya asked.

Sasuke then turned to the Toad Sage. "What?"

"You're being a hypocrite. You're going on and on about how much you've suffered and how bad you have it, yet as soon as someone else has a sob story you berate the whole thing. You act as if you're the only person in the history of the world who ever actually had a legitimate reason to be unhappy and everyone else is just overreacting."

Sasuke had a brief memory of Inari back in Wave, and for a moment thought that Jiraiya was comparing him to the whiny boy before he recalled a certain conversation said boy had with Kakashi regarding Naruto. "Well, if Naruto really does have it bad, prove it. What's he got to be miserable about?"

Jiraiya repositioned himself to get more comfortable. "Where should I start... well, since you brought up your family, I'll talk about up his. Naruto's never had any, not a name or a face to call a relative. All he has is a complete blank. While you may dismiss that as something he should be grateful for, consider how you'd feel if the family you wanted to avenge was a complete mystery to you. If you didn't know a single thing about your mother or father or anyone else. Imagine if you didn't even know if they wanted you, let alone loved you. You boy, you have memories, but Naruto can barely even have dreams. It's like the old saying goes, it's better to have loved and lost than never to have never loved at all. Guess which one applies to Naruto?"

For the first time Sasuke actually though carefully about that. He had never really thought about Naruto's status as an orphan that way before. To him, never having a family to begin with was essentially saying you never had anything to lose. He had never considered that maybe having nothing but questions was worse than having nothing but memories and, after hearing what Jiraiya had to say, he realized that maybe not having anything to lose might not be the blessing in disguise he thought it was. He could never have imagined what else Jiraiya was going to reveal about Naruto's life, however, as the Sannin continued talking to him.

"Naruto had no family to call his own... and that's just the tip of the iceburg of what he had to go through. You may know the loneliness of not having a family to go home to Sasuke and I can understand how painful that alone might be..." Jiraiya continued.

"...But let's forget about the origin of that loneliness for a bit, and think more about the life it results it. Imagine for a moment if you had been alone not from when you were seven but from the day you were born. Then imagine that you're not only lonely at home but that you were forced to be lonely in town as well. Imagine if people didn't care about your clan, your family, or you. Imagine if those people even went as far as to think that you should've died like the rest of them, and they won't even tell you why. Imagine if in school the teachers refused to have anything to do with you, and instead of wanting you to do your best, tried to make you do your worst. Imagine all the kids you know being told to avoid you, to treat you like some kind of plague, and even when they had to interact with you they did so in a way that only served to not just make you feel just lonely but unwelcome as well. Imagine if some people even wanted you gone so badly that you have to live your life with the constant threat of an angry villager or shinobi trying to kill you and that this threat was present every day of your life. Imagine this, all of this, was the only life you ever knew."

Sasuke was silent, stunned by the scenario. Even the Last Uchiha had some morality left in him and to hear that such a thing was possible almost made him sick. To force such a hellish life like that on a child, regardless of who they might be, was beyond criminal... it was inhuman, something that would probably piss even Sasuke off.

"Now imagine that this happened to Naruto." Jiraiya said, throwing him off. "Would you still say he has nothing to be miserable about?"

Sasuke wasn't considered a genius for nothing. He was to figure out what Jiraiya was trying to tell him. "Are you say all that... _did_ happen to him?"

"Yep, all of that and much, much worse... and he had to live this life from day one."

"But... but if that's true then how can he act so happy and carefree like it's nothing?" Sasuke asked, not seeing how somebody living in misery could resist sulking in it. While Sasuke wasn't an expert on emotions, he believed that if you were in a bad mood you were supposed to show it, not pretend otherwise.

"Because sulking won't change anything. In fact, sulking would only let the Itachi of his life win and destroy him." Jiraiya answered.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "There is someone in his life like Itachi?"

"You didn't think Naruto's family never existed right?" The sannin asked back. "Someone had to get rid of all of Naruto's family, leaving him without anyone to care for him." At that, Jiraiya paused, and Sasuke noticed what he could only guess was remorse.

"You know who it is, don't you? And you haven't told the dobe yet. Why is that?"

"As it stands there's no point in me telling him. Naruto already knows and already knows that I know who it is as well." Jiraiya told him.

"He does? He knows who is responsible for his loneliness? And he's not fixated on getting revenge?" Sasuke asked.

"No, because revenge won't solve the problem. Hurting the cause of his loneliness won't make that feeling of loneliness go away, no more than killing your brother will make your family come back. Naruto doesn't want revenge; all he wants friends, acceptance, bonds with other people so that he doesn't have to be lonely anymore. Love is the only thing he wants. Revenge is the last thing on Naruto's mind. And even if he did want revenge, the... target in question is in a place where Naruto can't ever hurt it, so it would be a pointless desire."

Sasuke didn't like the way the toad sage phrased that. To him it was clear Jiraiya was trying to avoid giving any specific details. "And why is that?"

Jiraiya continued looking at him firmly. "You really want to know?"

"I asked you, didn't I?"

"Alright, the reason why is because the great cause of Naruto's misery and loneliness... is inside him. He can't hurt it anymore than you could hurt a tapeworm inside yourself."

"Inside him?" Sasuke repeated. "Like what, a multiple personality thing?"

"No, it's nothing like that." The sannin said with a sigh. "Understand that what I am about to tell you is classified and cannot be repeated to others. When the Kyuubi attacked Konoha 13 years ago the Yondaime wasn't able to truly get rid of it... so he has no choice but to seal it away inside of Naruto on the day he was born. Naruto is basically a living breathing cage for the fox. Before it was locked up, however, the Kyuubi managed to killed his entire family when they sacrificed themselves to protect him."

Sasuke temporarily forgot how to breathe. 'He has _THAT _monster in him? That would explain what that chakra cloak thing he used in out battle. It was a manifestation of the fox's power.'

Remembering the story of the Yondaime defeating the Kyuubi, Sasuke realized that Naruto had this burden forced onto him. Naruto was a couple months younger than him after all, and Sasuke had been told he wasn't even weaned when that night happened. Naruto could very well have been holding the fox since the very hour he was born, which meant some important things Sasuke was now starting to understand.

There was definitely some validity to Jiraiya's claim of Naruto's life, but it still made little sense. Why would people do that to Naruto and Naruto alone? Did the village know about his connection to the fox? If not, what other reason would they have to mistreat Naruto? And if so, then why would they mistreat him for that in the first place?

Sasuke admitted Naruto had never been his favorite person, but that was simply because Naruto annoyed him. He couldn't speak for others, but he was certain the entire village couldn't use that as an excuse. How could one child annoy the entire town to the point that they would make his life a living hell? Didn't the adults have anything better to do than make him feel unwanted? No, the only conclusion that made sense to the Uchiha was that the older generation knew about Naruto, didn't like his connection to the fox, and tried to keep the uninformed younger generation uninformed but make them follow their example.

'Despicable. How can people treat someone like crap for something that's not even their own fault? To think that the dobe has had almost the entire village as an enemy since the day he was born. And he had to fight to ensure his spirit remained unbroken after thirteen years of social neglect and the obvious occasion act of violence. He's definitely stronger then I gave him credit for. I thought I had it rough but compared to the dobe... I actually got off lucky by comparison. I called Naruto naïve when I left Konoha... but I guess I was the one who was blind to the truth.'

"It's changes a lot, knowing this. Doesn't it kid?" Jiraiya asked.

Sasuke looked back to him. "I have to ask, if everything you said is true, then why are people doing it and getting away with it? I mean, is the fox really their only motive? Don't they trust the Hokage?"

"People tend to overreact when they're scared."

"Overreact? _Overreact_?!" Sasuke repeated, finding himself offended by that word usage in this context. "That is not overreacting! What Naruto had to go though... I can't even think of a word to describe what I think of it. No one should live like that and, I cannot _believe_ the words that are coming out of my mouth, but that's a fate I wouldn't even wish on my own brother!"

Jiraiya showed some surprise. "Considering what I hear you say about him, I'm genuinely surprised. I'm not defending the people, but you asked why they did what they did. The only way to get your answer is to try and understand how they think. It doesn't mean you have to agree with it or anything."

"You're getting off topic, old man." Sasuke warned. "What exactly are people afraid of regarding Naruto? Even if the fox was as bad as everyone says it was it doesn't make any sense. Any idiot with at least one brain cell could see he's not being controlled by the fox."

"You're right. Any idiot can see that... unless they think he is the fox in human form." Jiraiya pointed out.

"In human form? So they believe the Yondaime wasn't strong enough to kill the fox but strong enough to transform it into a human? That doesn't even begin to explain why the fox wouldn't have just tried to destroy Konoha in human form." Sasuke asked. "And after all this time and after everything Naruto has done they still don't want to give him the benefit of the doubt?"

"I'm afraid not... the Hokage wanted people to treat Naruto like a hero and sealed the fox into Naruto with that hope. Unfortunately the general population wanted a scapegoat instead and found it in him. But despite all of that Naruto didn't give in to his despair and decided to do something about it. So yeah, call him an dobe or whatever you want to call him... but don't you EVER say that Naruto doesn't know what it means to suffer! Look kid, before we get off topic more than we already have, I should probably just wrap this up and get to my main point. The fact of the matter here is that you made a big mistake by trying to go to Orochimaru, and not just in legal terms. Believe me kid, killing your brother won't mean anything if you get yourself or others like Naruto killed too."

"What makes you say that?"

"Simple, hurting the innocent in order to kill Itachi would be no different than hurting Naruto in order to kill the Kyuubi."

Sasuke saw the reasoning there, but was confused on another matter. "What does that have to do with Orochimaru?"

"Orochimaru went after your brother first, he wanted his eyes more than yours. The reason he settled for you is because he couldn't defeat Itachi. If you can, it's basically telling the snake you're an even bigger threat then Itachi was. By going to Orochimaru, you're basically putting yourself in his hands to kill you when it's clear you're stronger than he is. And if he teaches you how to kill Itachi, he can also teach you in a way that guarantees you have a weakness he can exploit. Trust me kid, there is simply no way going to Orochimaru would have turned out in your favor."

'He went after Itachi already?' Sasuke asked, not aware of this. 'If he couldn't beat him, how could he possibly help me? Damn it to hell, Naruto was right, I really was making a mistake trusting Orochimaru to give me what I wanted. Just on my reasoning for going to Orochimaru it was a bad idea from the start. That doesn't even include why Naruto wanted to stop me.'

At this point, however, there was one question that was ringing loudly in Sasuke's mind.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Sasuke asked.

"Why? Well, remember how you faulted the villagers for making an uninformed decision about Naruto? Here I was trying to get the facts straight for you. I'm not going to tell you what to decide, but at least you'll make a smarter choice now. While this does help the reason I'm telling you this is for Naruto's sake more than anything. I... I know what Naruto was going through when he went to stop you because I tried but wasn't able to stop Orochimaru from leaving. I know what Naruto would have to go through if you did... and I don't want to see Naruto having to go through that pain of losing you the way I lost my own best friend. He's already suffered enough in his life. That's the main reason that I'm talking to you... and I'd like to think this way you're less likely to end up like Orochimaru yourself. Or for that matter, Itachi."

"I will never be like Itachi." Sasuke insisted.

Jiraiya did not look like he was convinced. "Your brother severed all bonds to this village and the people in it, you included, to pursue a selfish goal, breaking the hearts of those he left behind. And here you tried to sever you bonds to the villages, the people in the villages, which nearly hurt a lot of people who care about you, Sasuke. So tell me... how is you going to Orochimaru any different from what Itachi did to you? Keep that in mind before you try to pull a stunt like that again." Jiraiya said before disappearing.

'That still doesn't tell me why he spoke to me.' He thought to himself. Despite being in a bed already, Sasuke felt like he had just collapsed from taking all this information in and yet he was still being left with a lot of questions. 'What did he mean by I could become like Itachi? He murdered my entire family for fun. How can I do the same when my family's already dead? Unless... he meant similar in principle than in action. Maybe... maybe he was talking about Naruto, Sakura, and the others?'

He closed his eyes and a memory came back to him. Back in Wave, where Kakashi was talking to Inari after Naruto chewed him out. Sasuke had been going out for a walk, one of his few hobbies, when he passed by and heard something that caught his attention.

"_Naruto's had a terrible life for as long as he could remember, but he decided to stop crying about it and make it better himself. One of the few things he hates is seeing people give up before they even try the same._"

'I didn't think about it at the time, I assumed Kakashi-sensei was just saying that to appeal to the boy. But now it makes sense.' Sasuke thought. 'A lifetime of being treated like a monster. And obviously he didn't know the reason why that entire time. Who would look at a little kid and say 'You're the container for the monster that killed a lot of people'? How the heck did he survive like that? And for that matter, why would he want to become Hokage of a village that made his life miserable? I mean, if for example Konoha made Itachi kill my clan, I know I sure as hell wouldn't feel any loyalty to this place. Or maybe he wanted to do it to gain those bonds that he wanted so badly... like the one I tried to cut by trying to kill him... maybe's that what that old man was trying to say...'

Sasuke closed his eyes and began to sleep.

[Inside Sasuke's Mind]

Sasuke opened his eyes after a while... only to see a grey mist-like haze completely blocking his vision.

'Where am I? I can't see anything.' He thought, with nothing but the grey mist-like haze before him. He started walking, but it didn't feel like something he was doing consciously. His footsteps sounded muffled, yet it felt like he was walking atop something squishy and wet atop something hard. All of a sudden his right arm moved against his wishes and acted like it was batting something away. But the sounds of screams were heard.

'What's going on?' He asked. At that the haze began to lift. He saw he was in his childhood home, back when his family was alive. And in front of him were two dead bodies, looking just like the corpses of Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto. 'What? No, not again.' He thought, kneeling down on the blood-covered floor. When he got a closer look, he gasped.

It wasn't his parents that were dead, it was Naruto and Sakura. Killed by an obvious and fatal sword wound.

In shock Sasuke jerked up and saw a mirror that hadn't been there before. But his reflection... it wasn't him, nope it was Itachi's face, covered by a blood splatter, looking back at him... as he smiled back. Something that Sasuke couldn't remember Itachi doing anymore.

'No, this can't be real.' He thought, looking away from the mirror and discovering a blood-covered sword in his right hand. The sword was angled to give off his reflection too, and it was still the face of Itachi looking back at him.

'No!' He told himself, dropping the sword and rushing out of the house. 'I am not like Itachi!' He yelled as he got out of the house, only to see the horrifying sight of numerous bodies in the street, all looking like Naruto and Sakura. 'Noooooooooooo!'

_**(End flashback)**_

"...when finally I woke up and realized that it was bad dream, and after thinking about what the meaning behind that dream, I finally understood what Naruto and that old man Jiraiya were trying to tell me."

Sasuke took a drink of water, tired for speaking so much. "Told you you'd want to sit down."

Sakura and Hinata were indeed sitting down, since Sasuke spared no details, especially the one about Naruto being a jinchuuriki. Hinata looked upset, but not as much as she had before, and Sakura looked downright mortified. "That can't be true. I mean, it's got to be a lie."

"Why would he lie about that Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata closed her eyes. "It's not a lie."

"So you knew?" Sasuke asked.

"I can see chakra, I've always been able to see Naruto-kun had a type not normal for a human. It was easy to figure out the cause when I learned more about him."

"But if you knew, what about Neji?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know, I never asked, and for the majority of my life I never had a reason to ask. There was a time he wanted to kill me remember? I wasn't about to give him a reason to hate Naruto-kun too."

Sakura looked at the floor for a moment. 'Mom, Dad, is this why you told me to avoid him? You think Naruto is some kind of monster?' What made her stomach churn was the fact that she had never asked for a reason to their claim. As a child, she had just assumed if her parents said it then it had to be true. They told her it was better for her to avoid him and not make friends, and she did it without question, even going as far as becoming close to an enemy even when her parents didn't tell her to. 'Naruto... I'm so sorry.'

"So now what Uchiha-san?" Hinata asked. "Does this change anything for you? Does Naruto-kun's life actually have value to you now?"

"You say that like it never did." Sasuke accused.

"Did it?" Hinata pressed. "You admitted you were willing to kill him to get some kind of upgrade for you eyes. Just be glad you didn't, or else I'd personally make you blind."

"There's no need." Sasuke said before showing his newly-gained Mangekyo Sharingan, which looked an awful lot like a diagram of a red atom surrounded by the black of his pupil. "Somehow, I got it without killing him."

"How?" Hinata asked. "Did you kill someone else here?"

"No. To be honest, I don't know how I got it. I didn't even know I got it at all until a guard came in and pointed it out. Maybe that dream had something to do about it. Maybe killing your best friend doesn't require such a literal act, but the strong enough belief that you succeeded in doing it."

"Or maybe the guilt or grief you felt caused you to awaken it." Sakura suggested.

Sasuke shrugged and sighed for a moment. "Maybe you're right. Though now I'm not too proud of what I tried to do to get it. I screwed up... big time. There's no denying that."

"Well at least you're admitting it." Hinata said. "But this doesn't mean you're back on my good side. Naruto-kun nearly died because of you. An apology won't be enough for me."

"Why should I apologize to you? This doesn't apply to you in any way."

"Sasuke-san, Naruto-kun is more than just your teammate. He is my heart. I can't live without him anymore than you can live with only half your body. Killing him is personal to him. Even if Naruto-kun can forgive you with just an 'I'm sorry', I won't."

"How can you hold a grudge when he doesn't?" Sasuke asked.

"You must not understand women that well Sasuke-kun." Sakura said, agreeing with Hinata in principle.

"And I probably never will. Deal with it."

"Well understand this Sasuke-san, threaten Naruto-kun again and I'll make you regret it." Hinata warned. "After all, you just admitted that you felt weak."

"I admit nothing. Besides, with my current condition what do you have to be afraid of?"

"The last time you were in a hospital the very first thing you did once you got out was fight Naruto-kun."

Sakura nodded. "She's right Sasuke-kun, you did do that."

"Yes and I lost that time. Then I fought him a second time... and ended up here because, thankfully, I lost. I doubt the third time is going to be the charm even with my Mangekyo Sharingan, especially knowing what I know." He commented. "Speaking of which, what is your stance on that Sakura?"

"Huh?"

Hinata looked to the pinkette. "Yes, what do you think of Naruto-kun now?"

"Honestly, he's clearly stronger than I ever gave him credit for. And I don't mean physically, but emotionally." She said.

"Well, I've said all I want to say." Hinata said, standing up. "I'm going back to him now."

"What are you going to tell him?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata looked at him briefly then back to the door. "Only what he needs to hear."

She then opened the door, but before she could even step out, the body of a person went flying past the door like a projectile. Moving too fast to see properly, especially since it was something she hadn't expected to see.

"What the hell was that?" Sasuke asked, as he was able to see what happened from his bed.

"What was what?" Sakura added, getting up since she hadn't seen it, but she did hear a resulting crash.

Hinata looked into the hall, and saw at the end to her left was a fuming Tsunade. "Hokage-sama?"

"If you're looking for Naruto, you better get to him quickly before someone else does." She warned.

Without anything else needed, Hinata bolted down the hall to her loved one's room.

Sakura stayed by the door. "What could this mean?"

"It sounds like someone's doing something to Naruto they shouldn't be... and the Hokage didn't approve of it. If that person she sent flying is part of it... she's going to grind them into fishcakes." Sasuke guessed before making suggestion to Sakura. "I think you should go check on Naruto as well."

"You sure?"

"I'm not in danger, but Naruto might. Go!" He told her.

She nodded. "I'll be back Sasuke-kun."

She then ran to Naruto's room while asking herself what was happening to her blonde teammate.

[Naruto's Room, Konoha Hospital]

_Some Time Earlier..._

While Sasuke was dealing with visitors, Naruto had some of his own. "Hey Ero-sennin, who'd you bring with you?"

Jiraiya frowned while his company either chuckled or smiled at the title. Tsunade, who was also there, didn't react since it was nothing new to her ears. "Show some respect kid."

"When you stop peeping I might consider it." The young blonde looked to the four redheads. "This guys is a peeping addict or something. He goes to peep into the women's part of the hot springs here all the time."

At hearing this Rea turned to look at Jiraiya with a scowl on his face. "Hey old man, if I ever find out that you ever peeped on my sister you're a dead man walking. You got it?"

"Hey, if I wanted to kill myself, I'd find a less painful way than doing that." Jiraiya claimed. "One guy tried it and got caught... and ended in a coma for several months because of it. That woman's temper would have been more lethal than Tsunade's was that one time she caught me. I never even considered doing 'research' if she was around."

"Wait, the _one_ time I caught you?" Tsunade asked with a hiss. "You mean there were times you peeped and I didn't catch you?"

"To be fair Hokage-dono, if you didn't catch him, that's your own fault." Kikyo stated.

As Tsunade glared at Kikyo because of that jab Rea noticed that Naruto kept staring at him.

"Hey kid, something wrong?" Rea asked.

"You look familiar, have I seen you before?" Naruto asked to the man closest to Jiraiya.

"Yeah, you have. You forgotten me already, kid? You know what, never mind. The name's Rea, memorize it this time."

"Naruto, we're here to tell you something critical, but rest assured no decision will be made for you." Tsunade told the young blonde reassuringly. "These four people here, they're... this is going to be hard to explain, but they're distant relatives of yours."

Needless to say Naruto was surprised.

"Relatives?" Naruto asked. "But... how is that possible? The way everyone describes me, you'd swear I just popped out of the ground like a plant instead of having parents."

"You're not a mushroom kid, you're a human being. And that means someone has to be related to you." Jun said.

"Then where have you been all this time?" Naruto asked.

"Let us introduce ourselves first Naruto. To properly answer your question, we will have to explain some things first." Kikyo started. "My name is Uzumaki Kikyo. If you've ever heard of me, it was probably by my moniker One-Shot Kikyo."

"Sorry, never heard of you."

Kikyo looked to Tsunade. "The depths this village has gone to keep Naruto in the dark continues to infuriate me. I'd be careful with what you say to the boy in this conversation."

"In all fairness, if you had gotten what you wanted when you wanted it, wouldn't your village have kept him ignorant of things from this one?" Tsunade countered.

"Not for the sake of loyalty, Hokage-dono." Kikyo insisted.

"Excuse me?" Tsunade asked.

"Konoha has kept Naruto ignorant of his clan and of our village, and from what we understand, he has little to no understanding of other villages even if he is aware of them. To me, it is a strong case against Konoha, signs that this village tried to keep him ignorant to ensure he never got the idea to leave. How could he if he was unaware of where to go?"

"You talk big, but face it, if Naruto had been in your village you would have kept him ignorant of Konoha to make him stay with you." Tsunade accused.

"We would have told him his parents, but beyond that what else would he be required to know?" Miya asked.

"What was he required to know about Uzushio?"

"Oh, I don't know... maybe the fact that he had a family there?!" Jun answered on Kikyo's behalf, albeit sarcastically.

"Knowing about you guys wouldn't have changed a damn thing. Did you ever stop to think that maybe not everything can work out in one person's favor?" Tsunade asked.

"You're one to talk. After all, it wasn't Naruto who spent decades trying to find the answers to their problems at the bottom of a bottle."

"Excuse me, but why is everyone here in my room if all you're going to do is talk about me instead of to me?" Naruto asked.

"Sorry about that. Let's continue with the introductions. I'm Uzumaki Miya."

"I'm Uzumaki Jun."

"And like I told you, I'm Uzumaki Rea. We come from the village of Uzushiogakure."

"Now that the introductions are out of the way I'll cut to the chase and explain why we're here. Despite what you may be led to believe Naruto, you do have family; in fact you come from a shinobi clan. Just not a clan native to Konoha." Kikyo told him.

"Then..." He started.

"Why are you in Konoha?" Kikyo finished for him. "Simple, your mother moved here when she was a child and fell in love with your father. Before you ask, yes we do know who your parents are and we'd be happy to tell you."

"Naruto, to make this easier for all of us, it would be best if you withheld any questions until we're done. Okay?" Miya asked politely, and Naruto nodded. "Thank you."

"Naruto, let me tell you the story from the beginning." Kikyo said, then cleared her throat. "There's a hidden village you're unaware of, which is Uzushiogakure, the Village Hidden in the Whirlpool. It was founded right after Konoha was, by our clan, the Uzumaki. Our village was powerful, but at some point our enemies banded together to destroy us. They almost succeeded. Keyword being 'almost'."

"We went into hiding to let the danger pass. When it did, we focused on rebuilding our village in secret while also trying to locate any of our clansmen who had remained scattered through out the world after they failed to return. Eventually we learned about you and wanted to take you with us, but the Sandaime Hokage insisted letting you stay here was the best way to honor your parents wishes. We decided to let you stay, but we warned him we'd come back in time and see how you were doing. The way we see it, Konoha has been holding you back and is not the best environment for you, so we'd like you to come with us."

Naruto's eyes widened. "You intend to take me away from my home and friends?"

Tsunade smiled. "Looks like we have our answer."

"Don't get your hopes up, he's jumping to conclusions." Kikyo told her, then addressed the whiskered blonde once more. "Naruto, refrain from deciding anything until we have nothing more to tell you."

"You want to take me from my friends. That's all I need to hear to say no and that's that." He declared firmly.

"Even if we can tell you who your parents are?"

Naruto looked at her. "You mean you won't tell me unless I agree to go with you."

"Now that's just low." Tsunade complained.

"Again, you are jumping to conclusions. Naruto, I'd be happy to tell you who they are whether or not you decide to come with us. All I ask is you at least hear why coming with us to Uzushio would be a good idea. No more 'My mind is already made up'."

Naruto leaned back and crossed his arms. "Just say what you want to say, but my mind _is_ already made up."

'He's like his mother, too stubborn for his own good.' Rea thought.

"Naruto, while I would be happy to take you back to Uzushio with us, it would be counterproductive to force you. So allow me to tell you why coming with us would be beneficial to you." Kikyo started. "Uzushio is a village that was made for the Uzumaki. We have means to specifically bring out your potential. Konoha is better at helping clan ninja or those born to advantages, yet they've denied that to you even though you deserve it more. Uzushio will deny you nothing, within reason of course."

"This isn't to say we're bribing you." Miya added in. "But think about it, Konoha hasn't exactly tried to let you become all you can be. How many fighting styles do you know? How many jutsu do you know that you didn't have to pry out of someone's hands just to learn about let alone do? You may want what's best for this village, but is the feeling mutual?"

"There are some people who care for me." He stated.

"And how many of them have taught you to become a better ninja? How many of them didn't have to be asked to teach you something?" Miya added.

"Kakashi-sensei." Naruto answered.

"Kid, Kakashi knew who your father was. He was actually really close to him." Rea pointed out, getting a shocked look from the whiskered blonde. "You'd think he'd make it a point to watch over you since he liked your father so much, but tell me, did you even know who Kakashi was until he was assigned to be your sensei? Oh by the way, he wasn't put in charge of your team to help you, but to help your Uchiha teammate. And what exactly has he taught you since becoming your sensei? Does that sound like someone who cares about you?"

"Well, if you knew about my parents, what about you? He was at least there for me." Naruto claimed.

"Yeah, after you became good enough to be a genin. Where was he when you were younger and alone?" Jun asked.

"Where were you when I was younger and alone?" Naruto asked, making Tsunade smile and how he was turning their argument against them.

"He's right. You can't throw the first stone here." Tsunade couldn't resist getting in.

"Neither can Konoha." Kikyo stated. "Naruto, as we told you, we had to hide to protect ourselves. We did come for you, but we were asked to honor the Yondaime's sacrifice for Konoha by letting you stay and get stronger. Now, if Konoha was honoring his sacrifice, wouldn't they be helping you get stronger?"

"I have gotten stronger." He insisted.

"And how much of that can you credit to Konoha rather than yourself?" Kikyo asked. "You learned the shadow clones despite one teacher giving you the opportunity, not because of it. Your senseis all seem to prioritize chakra control lessons but never anything to do with it. After all, tree-walking, water-walking, and summoning were of little direct use to you in the chuunin exams, yet that's all you were taught were you not?"

"It helped me during the invasion." He pointed out.

"That is true, but the invasion was not something Konoha was preparing you for. They should have prepared you for the chuunin exams, and yet you knew nothing but tree-walking and shadow clones. Naruto, do you intend to go the rest of your career doing nothing but outnumbering the enemy and beating them senseless? Being a ninja is not about doing the same jutsu over and over again. Do it too much, and someone will figure out a way around it."

"I have the Rasengan for that." The whiskered blonde countered smugly.

"Ah yes, an incomplete close range jutsu that requires a lot of time for you to build and the luxury of a clone to create in your particular case." Kikyo said, unimpressed. "How would you use that against a long range fighter like me?"

"I'd run up to you and-" He started, but then Kikyo took out her bow and pointed it at him.

"Hey! Put that away! You're in a hospital!" Tsunade yelled.

Kikyo put her bow back behind her. "Relax, Hokagoe-dono, it was just to get a point across. Did you really believe that I would attempt to shoot him?" She looked to Naruto. "Before you could have even finish that sentence, I would have shot you at least twenty times with my arrows and killed you. With a clone right next to you, you would have a difficult time dodging. And with your hands full making a Rasengan, you would be unable to create a defense. With your limited arsenal, you'd stand no chance against me. And don't kid yourself into thinking just because you're young adults will show you mercy. They will not. They will kill you, and they will not be afraid or ashamed to be unfair about it."

"This is what being a ninja is all about kid. Your mother and father knew that all too well." Rea mentioned. "While we're at it, can I tell him now, Kikyo?"

She nodded. "Yes. He deserves to know."

"Now hold on." Jiraiya stepped in.

"Are you saying he doesn't deserve to know?" Jun asked.

"Not at all, but maybe the timing isn't right." Jiraiya told them.

"How is him knowing now a bad thing? His life is already in danger even if their enemies don't know who he is, so your claim of safety is moot." Kikyo proclaimed, then looked to Naruto. "Naruto, your father is Namikaze Minato and your mother was Uzumaki Kushina. You are the son of the Yondaime Hokage and Princess of Uzushio."

Naruto was wide-eyed and silent, with everyone waiting to see his reaction. Tsunade and Jiraiya were now very concerned, since it was entirely possible that he would lose all trust in them and via association Konoha for keeping this from him.

"Hey, I was going to tell him." Rea complained, only to get no response or apology.

"That... that's impossible. Surely someone would have told me that if it was true." Naruto said, his expression still shocked.

"It's true kid." Rea said, then looked at Jiraiya. "Go on, tell him. Be honest for once, _godfather_."

Jiraiya almost stumbled over with that last word. "How did you know?"

"You're not the only one good at gathering information old man."

"Wait... you two knew?" Naruto asked Jiraiya and Tsunade.

"I didn't until Jiraiya told me." Tsunade said, hoping to retain some credibility to the whiskered blonde. If he lost all trust in her, he might seriously consider leaving Konoha.

"But you did know." Naruto said. "Both of you knew. And you never told me." He was frowning and starting to cry. "And what was that godfather remark about?"

"Oh you don't know?" Rea asked rhetorically. "Ero-sennin here is your godfather, meaning your parents asked him to raise you if for some reason they couldn't."

Naruto looked at Jiraiya and Jiraiya looked back, the older male looking like he didn't know if he should be remorseful or make an explanation while the younger male looked like he didn't know whether to demand an explanation or curse him. It was probably the tensest moment of Jiraiya's life.

"Naruto, I-" Jiraiya started.

Naruto just looked away. "Everyone, please get out. I need some time to myself." He sounded more crushed than anything, but there was a hint of suppressed anger to his tone.

Kikyo nodded. "Perhaps that is best. It is unreasonable to present you with so much knowledge and expect you to make an appropriate decision right away. I will only add that Uzushio has much to offer you and we do not intend to withhold anything without at least telling you why first, rather than simply not tell you that it's happening in the first place. You are a part of our clan, after all."

"Naruto, I need to run a check-up on you, so I'll say." Tsunade told him. "We don't have to talk, but I will answer what I can."

"In that case, Jun, stay and do not leave until she does." Kikyo ordered and Jun nodded.

"Hold on there." Tsunade started.

"My apologies, Hokage-dono, but I'm afraid that you have no authority over us on the matter and you cannot make us leave except by force and you and I both know how that would end. I realize that you do at least have Naruto's best interests in mind but I simply can't take the chance of you potentially poisoning his mind with lies about our offer. Jun will only be sure you don't lie to him. If you do wish to argue your case, however, we won't stop you as long as you're honest to Naruto," Kikyo said, then ushered all but one of her group to leave. Jiraiya didn't want to, but a harsh look from Tsunade made him comply and exit as well.

Tsunade went to blonde, who was making an effort to avoid eye contact. "Naruto, I know Konoha hasn't been the best home for you." She started as she ran a diagnostic jutsu over him, checking the progress of his healing. She was relieved that the wound from the chidori's was particularly well, like his body had prioritized healing that area first. "But it is your home. You can't want to just leave your home right?"

"Didn't you?" He said, the words feeling like a kunai to the heart.

Before the conversation could continue Jun tensed and gripped his shakujo. "Both of you, get ready."

"For what?" Both Tsunade and Naruto asked.

Their question was answered when the window broke and four masked ninja in jounin outfits came through.

"We will not allow him to leave Konoha. Hand him over now." One of the ninja ordered.

Tsunade bolted up and stood before Naruto protectively. "I am dealing the issue here. Stand down and leave this room or you'll be considered traitors to Konoha."

The intruders were in no mood to talk. Three of them drew out ninjatos while the fourth took out shackles with juinjutsu inscribed on them. Their intention was clear and both the Uzumaki and the two Sannin didn't need an explanation as to what those intentions were. They planned to make Naruto's choice for him and take him somewhere to ensure that he stayed whether he wanted to or not. And they were willing to kill anyone who dared to try and stop them, even the Hokage.

'Someone is going to pay for this act of treason.' Tsunade mentally hissed as she entered her fighting stance. 'After I kill these backstabbers, of course.'

Jun held his shakujo like a bo staff, hitting the wall behind him once with it. All of a sudden the door burst open and in came Miya holding a sword, Kikyo sporting a bow, Rea with a metal chakram, and Jiraiya while unarmed was more than ready for trouble.

The two sides stood off like a classic Mexican standoff, with Naruto in the middle.

"Your orders, Kikyo-sama?" Miya asked.

"Kill them all and let Konoha sort them out."

"I second that... that said I'm the one in charge of this village, Kikyo-dono. If anyone should be giving out orders... it's going to be me." Tsunade said before she made the first move by hitting the ninja with the shackles hard enough to send them crashing through the wall.

"There's more of them in the hallways. Jiraiya, help the envoy and protect Naruto! I'll deal with these damned traitors myself!" She said before going through the hole she just made to finish the job.

As Jiraiya readied himself for a fight a part of him almost felt sorry for the traitors coming down the hallways... almost. The Uzumaki, they didn't even feel an almost in that regard.


	4. Chapter 3

**Ninja of the Spiral**

**Chapter Three - Battle in the Hospital!**

[Hospital ICU wing, Konoha]

_Current Time..._

"Nice to be out of here, isn't it?" Chouji asked as he got into the hall along with the others who had been on the retrieval mission. Thanks to Tsuande's help and very well detailed medical records from the Akimichi clan, he and the others were back to normal now. Except for Shikamaru, mainly because his broken finger wasn't as much a priority as the wounds of the rest of the team, but he'd be fine in a couple of days.

Neji did some stretches, his body feeling stiff. "We should be grateful we have the best medic in the known world here in our village. Without her, we might be in critical condition for the next week or so."

"Yeah, we should be sure to thank Naruto again for bringing the hokage here." Kiba commented, remembering Hinata telling him the only reason Tsunade came back to Konoha was because Naruto got through to her, even though she wasn't entirely sure of the details. "You know, did we ever thank him for that when he actually did it?"

"I... I can't speak for the rest of you, but I don't recall ever thanking him." Neji admitted, feeling a bit bothered now.

The others thought about it, and realize they too had failed to express gratitude to the blonde. It saddened them, their comrade had delivered tot hem the very thing that had saved their lives, and yet they, along with possibly the rest of the village, hadn't even thanked him for it. And if it weren't for a single idle comment, they likely never would have thought about it.

"Where is he anyway? Isn't he being released too?" Chouji asked, looking around and not seeing the whiskered blonde.

"He should, he heals better than the rest of us." Shikamaru noted. "He was probably released first."

"No, because then he'd be checking up on us now." Kiba theorized.

"Unless he's getting ramen." Chouji suggested.

Kiba nodded. "Yeah, dude loves ramen more than life itself."

"We should check his room first." Neji suggested.

Shikamaru sighed. "It's on the next floor up."

Neji frowned. "Your foot isn't broken is it? Then you can't complain."

"Watch me." Shikamaru remarked, but nonetheless followed the Hyuuga branch member to the stairs up.

As soon as they got to the next floor, but before any of the boys got off the steps themselves, they saw Hinata dart past them, followed by Sakura. The pinkette however saw them, whereas Hinata didn't, thus she stopped.

"Can you fight?" She asked.

"What?" Kiba asked.

"Can? You? Fight?" Sakura pressed, getting impatient.

"We're not supposed to, but I suppose if we have to-" Chouji started.

"Then be ready for it." Sakura warned, then went back after Hinata.

Shikamaru groaned then frowned at Neji. "This is YOUR fault you know."

"Hey, you want to leave, no one's stopping you." Neji hissed before following Sakura, which Chouji and Kiba were already doing.

Shikamaru sighed, knowing he could just leave, yet his body and morals and the voice in his head that sounded like his mother just would not let him. "Dammit, why can't the world just go on pause?" Despite his reluctance, he followed.

There was some fighting in the halls, mostly between masked Anbu and medical nin, so the younger ninja were being overlooked and allowed to follow Hinata, who ran like she was the only one who knew where to go. Unfortunately, before she could get there, she was swarmed by some masked ninja who decided they had gone far enough.

"Get out of my way!" Hinata practically screamed as she began hitting the hell out of them. But she could only hit them one at a time and not fully effectively since had to stop each attack before changing target, so the enemy nin were able to get around her and hit back, and hard.

"Getsuga!" Kiba yelled, doing his clan's spinning attack without his more injured companion to defend his teammate. Luckily the attack was designed to work when the user was outnumbered so he didn't have to put in extra effort to make it have the intended effect. But it hurt him to use nonetheless.

Now the group decided Hinata wasn't their only target, and took out ninjato and kunai to show they meant business. Fortunately, the younger nin weren't intimidated by opponents that carried weapons, it kind of came with the job.

"Human Boulder." Chouji said, getting in front of the rest and blimping up into a giant meatball, making him hard to hurt with most weapons. He rolled forward, and since they were in a hospital the enemy ninja had only one direction to go. Unfortunately, Hinata was in his way as well.

She had to run down the hall too since Chouji was incapable of seeing where he was going or rolling over. Up ahead on the right side of the wall there were two doors, one belonging to a door and one belonging to an elevator. The masked ninja had pasted them both, hoping to take advantage of an Akimichi's weakness in handling sharp turns by going down some stairs. Hinata however close to hide in the available room and just let him pass her.

She got to it and went it, thankful it was an unlocked medical supply closet. She got in safely, but Chouji broke off the door before she could close it.

"Hinata-sama?" Neji asked once he came by the closet.

"I know what you're going to ask. We think someone's attacking Naruto-kun." She told him as she went back into the hall. Looking down it she saw Chouji had to come to a stop.

"Why?" Shikamaru asked.

"Does it matter?" Hinata asked back, frowning at the shirker.

Chouji returned to normal size. Ahead of him was a wall that split the hall to either left or right but not forward, and he couldn't see the masked ninja anywhere. He did see some stairs going down, and concluded that's where they escaped to. "Everyone! Follow me!"

Right away the group tried to dart to him, except Hinata who stopped them by getting in front of them. "They're not the priority, getting to Naruto-kun's room is."

Sakura nodded. "Right. We need to get to the next floor up. Before they do."

Not bothering with the elevator, which would have taken too long even in a ninja hospital, the group, Chouji included, went to the stairs leading up, to the floor Naruto was one.

On this floor it was even more of a battlefield. Apparently the entire hospital from the fourth floor up was in a fight consisting of masked ninja, Anbu, and combat-trained medical ninja. Doors were closed and all the non-combat medical ninja were trying their best to keep the patients out of harms way.

None of the young ninja knew what to immediately do. They had not expected a battle of this magnitude. This was almost like a portion of the Oto-Suna Invasion all over again.

No time to speculate, Hinata went for Naruto's room down the hall, not caring in the least about joining the fight until she knew what his current state of being was. Once she moved, the others followed.

"Stop right there!" One of the masked nin ordered, but was completely ignored. Occupied with a fight against an Anbu, all they could do was thrown some kunai, which all missed and hit the wall instead. This didn't even faze the rookies, who continued following Hinata.

Outside Naruto's room the hospital seemed to have taken the worst damage, implying that this is where the fight started and it escalated to emcompass a lot more of it. There were burn marks and holes in the wall and even some slashes on the plaster as well. On the floor there were two down bodies, clearly dead since they were unmoving and on fire, with one man by the door with red-orange hair none of them recognized.

"Who are you?" Hinata asked in a threatening tone that could become more than just a threat depending on his answer.

"Someone who's on your side, kid. My name's Rea, memorize it."

"Why should I believe you?" She hissed.

"If you're a good ninja, you shouldn't." Rea replied.

"Where's Naruto then, if you're on our side?" Sakura asked.

Rea pointed behind himself with his thumb. "He's right in there..." He said as he turned around to see Naruto for himself before he paused mid-sentence. To the genin's surprise Rea's hands suddenly were suddenly enveloped by small fiery tornadoes.

Since they couldn't see, Hinata and Neji activated their byakugans and saw what he saw. Someone in a mask came in through the window. Naruto was already out of his bed, but it looked like the wires on him had only recently been disconnected, and judging by his chakra network, he wasn't at his normal health standards just quite. Close, but maybe about 90% there. But regardless, he was clearly ready to fight.

Without a word, both young Hyuuga rushed into the room, almost pushing past Rea to do so.

"Hinata...? Neji...? What are you guys still doing here?" Naruto told them.

"The hospital is a war zone, Naruto, did you expect us to leave in the middle of this fight and leave you alone?" Neji asked.

"No, and I'm glad you didn't. I was just surprised that you guys were still here, that's all." The blonde replied.

The masked nin had to pause for a moment, he looked like he was armed with some kind of fuinjutsu since he held a scroll in his hand but nothing else. He opened it quickly and placed it on the floor, a seal drawn across the paper. Despite how fast he might have been, Rea was faster and already armed with an attack, and blasted the masked nin with two flaming flurries. The attack must have been designed to burn rather than overpower, for it didn't push the masked nin back or show any signs that it had force behind it. Rather it set the uniform and scroll ablaze, and unless they acted quickly, the person inside would burn with them.

The threat no longer imposing, Hinata immediately went to Naruto and couldn't resist hugging him to confirm he was safe. "Naruto-kun, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, still in a lot of pain though." He said. "It feels like something is preventing my injuries from completely healing but I don't know what it might be."

Her byakugan still active, Hinata looked but couldn't see the problem. "Naruto-kun, I wish I knew what was wrong, but I can't see anything I recognize as a problem. For now, I would try to avoid pushing yourself if you can help it."

"But there's a fight going on." He objected.

She nodded. "That's why we're here. Since you can't fight right now we'll fight for you. You help us all the time so please let us return the favor."

At this point Rea entered the conversation.

"For now, stay here and fend off any newcomers." Rea ordered. "I'm going to go check on where that guy came from." Before any of the young Konoha-nins could say anything Rea went out the window and was headed up to the roof of the hospital.

On the wall, he could see a body sent flying off the roof and fall down to the street below, with a brief glow to one part of it and blood around the same area. 'Kikyo's already up there. I better not show up unannounced or else I'll be the one with an arrow in my gut...'

Getting close to the top, but still over the edge, Rea saw some other masked nin trying to surround someone, and got an idea. 'I gotta time this right.' Once he felt a familiar chakra surge, he jumped and immediately moved to behind one of the enemies.

This was a good idea, since almost right away the enemy became his human shield, taking roughly twenty chakra arrows for him then fell over.

'I'm glad Kikyo values accuracy over raw power, or else those would have skewered me too.' He thought, then made his fire chakrams, hoping Kikyo wasn't shooting her targets before determining who they were first. In the heat of battle, Uzumaki did sometimes have an 'attack first ask questions later' mentality.

Kikyo shot another enemy then turned to Rea, the familiar sight of his fire jutsu staying her hand, but she kept her bow ready.

"I come in peace." He said, just to ensure she didn't shoot him. She then fired an arrow that passed his head but pierced the skull of the masked nin behind him.

"I'd prefer it if you came to fight." She stated.

Rea nodded then spun in place for a moment, then suddenly his fire chakrams were released. Once freed, the rings of fire spun around him like a horizontal vortex, the circumference expanding quickly with him as the epicenter. The chakrams themselves were mowing down all the enemies that were left on the rooftop and didn't flee, while Rea cancelled the jutsu before Kikyo was at risk from it.

"Where is Naruto?" Kikyo asked now that she had a chance.

"Right where we left him. But we should get him somewhere secure."

"You know the layout of Konoha the best of us all, where do you recommend?" Kikyo asked.

"I had hoped we could go to the old Uzumaki embassy, but it's been torn down and repurposed as a shopping center expansion in our public absence. Plus, whoever's behind this attack would expect us to go there anyway. We can't go to the Suna embassy without causing a lot of legal backlash, but I do know a place virtually barren that no one can complain about us being there in."

"Then just say it." Kikyo insisted, not wanting a discussion.

"Better yet, I'll take Naruto and his friends there, then come get you and the others." Rea said before jumping back over the ledge of the building.

"Good." Kikyo said, then readied her bow again for any new threats; as she shot a couple of masked men part of Rea's sentence suddenly registered in her mind.

"Wait, his friends too?"

[Hospital, Naruto's Room]

_Meanwhile..._

While Rea had been out, another masked ninja took the opportunity to sneak in. When they did, all of Naruto's friends were there in the room keeping him from going right to his target. The ones closest to Naruto were Hinata and Shikamaru.

"What do you want with Naruto?" Sakura asked, holding a taijutsu stance as best she could, knowing if push came to shove she'd be outmatched but she was never one to go down without a fight.

"What I want is none of your concern, little girl. Now there are two ways this can end." The masked ninja said, his voice monotone but stern, like he was either giving an order or paraphrasing an objective. "You either hand me the jinchuuriki, or die before he does. I have no problem killing all of you, so if you want to live, give up the boy now."

"What did you just call Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, familiar with the terminology this man had used, even though the others weren't. 'If he goes into detail here there's no telling how they will react. Oh great, I shouldn't have called attention to it and given him a reason to go into detail. Smart thinking Hinata.' She berated herself.

Thankfully thee masked nin seemed to have no interest in answering her, much to her relief. At that moment, however, Naruto suddenly grimaced and hissed in pain, clutching his side like something inside him was being hurt. A little bit of blood starting dripping out of the corners of his mouth, and some sweat formed on his forehead.

Sensing an opportunity, the masked nin rushed to Naruto, moving too quickly to be blocked by the other genin. In fact, those in front of him were hit hard and thrown to the side, but on pure reflex Hinata, the one closest to Naruto, threw out her hand with a juuken strike and the masked nin ran right into it. The juuken strike hit his torso and stunned him, and if it weren't for the chakra reinforcing the hand Hinata might have broken a few bones from the impact. Unfortunately, her attack didn't really stop him.

Instead the enemy lashed out and backhand-slapped her in the face, trying to knock her down. She fell, but she countered with an uppercut kick to his jaw as she fell. The enemy was momentarily dazed, but otherwise in no way unable to continue his objective.

"You'll never get what you want from me." Naruto said angrily yet quiet, struggling to ignore his internal agony, which was beginning to pass.

"I don't want anything, I have no wants or needs. I am merely the one ensuring the wants and needs of my superior are fulfilled." The masked nin said, taking out chakra suppressors.

There was a glow behind him and before Naruto knew it this masked man jerked as if hit, then his body just split in half, cut diagonally from the right shoulder to the left hit, with the wounds looking burned. "What the heck?"

"Man, leave for one minute and look what happens." Rea says, standing by the window. His right index finger was pointed up but twirling with a small disc of fire only a tiny bit bigger than a shuriken rotating above it. "I think it's time we get you somewhere less violent, kid."

Rather than respond to Rea, Naruto knelt down to check on Hinata, who was already sitting up, as were the others knocked down. "Hinata-chan? Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine, I've been hit with worse." She said, rubbing her sore hand then saw the dead body. "Who did that?"

"That would be yours truly, girl." Rea said with a smile. "With something I'm sure you'd appreciate, the Hinata Jutsu."

"Hinata Jutsu?" The entire room repeated.

"Yeah, but it's written as 'Fire Knife' instead of 'Place in the Sun'. Here, watch it." He twirled his finger faster and the fire disc got brighter, then pointed forward and stopped moving his finger. The fire disc immediately morphed into a gigantic whip of flames that sliced through the wall of the hospital like a large sword. It even left the same kind of damage, like a sword made of fire had cut through the wall.

"Neat." Naruto said. At the same time the fire weapon retracted back into a disc and Rea twirled his finger, as if the motion helped suppress it.

At that moment the hospital was filled with the sound of a loud scream.

"Did anyone else hear a scream?" Sakura asked.

Rea shrugged. "Maybe there was someone else trying to sneak in from outside. It's not our problem. Naruto, since these guys are after you, we need to take you somewhere they can't find you. That way your wounds can finish healing and we can draw out the ring leader. Let's get going."

Naruto frowned. "I'm not going anywhere with a complete stranger!"

"Then take your friends along. I don't mind."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. Something about this man was telling him to trust him, but after everything that had happened he wasn't sure if he should. "How do I even know I can trust you?"

Rea sighed. "You don't. But, like it or not, it's either that or wait for one of those guys to come in and try to kill you here. At least with this, we can get you somewhere safer and draw out the guy responsible for all of this."

All of the Rookies looked at each other, silently asking themselves if this was a good idea. None of them had a clear answer, not even Shikamaru.

"Time's not something we have a luxury of wasting kids." Rea pointed out.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, end of story." Naruto said. "You and the others say I'm part of your clan, and yet you weren't there for me when I was growing up. And now you expect me to trust-"

"His clan?" Hinata repeated, not liking the sound of that one bit. The look she gave the fire-using Uzumaki was one no one had ever seen Hinata give, it was one that could be best described as 'You're dead to me'.

The other genin reacted a bit differently, however, as they were surprised by what they just heard as Rea tried to talk his way out of this.

"Naruto, we told you why that was the case. I never agreed to it, and I'm really sorry that I didn't come to see you sooner... but what's done is done. We'll make it up to you somehow but I can't do that if you die here." Rea said.

At this point Sakura placed her hand on Naruto's shoulder. "This man has a point, Naruto. It's too dangerous for you to be here in your condition. I think it would be best if we left. Besides this guy doesn't seem like he's going to betray you."

"And even if he is, it's not like we can't put up a hell of a fight all together." Kiba added.

"So what's your decision?"

Sakura turned to the redhead to speak to him. "We'll believe that you're not a threat and anywhere you take Naruto is better than here, seeing as how you saved his and Hinata's life." She then showed her fist while giving him a determined look. "But that doesn't mean that we trust you completely, so don't expect us to lower our guards until we know for sure that you're trying to help him."

"No problem. Now hurry and follow me." Rea replied.

"Hold on." Naruto proclaimed. "I didn't say I'd go anywhere. I still don't trust you to not try something."

"He can't take all of us with him too, Naruto." Shikamaru said. "If his goal was any more sinister, he wouldn't want us to follow."

Hinata patted Naruto's arm a bit to get his attention. "Naruto-kun, I think he really just wants to get you to safety right now. Let's at least follow him for now. If he tries anything, then we'll fight for you."

"But you guys could get hurt." He pointed out.

"C'mon man, have some faith in us." Kiba said. "You're not the only one who can take a hit."

Before this conversation could continue, however, another masked ninja appeared and unsheathed their blade as they tried to attack the group as their backs were turned, but was stopped when a hand infused with lightning pierced their chest.

"That's far enough."Aa voice said from behind the masked-nin before the traitor's lifeless body dropped to the ground, revealing the presence of one Hatake Kakashi as he deactivated the jutsu he just used.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed to which Kakashi responded by waving her off.

The Copy Ninja then turned to face Naruto and Rea.

"Sorry I'm late, Naruto. I was planning to visit you earlier today but I was busy tailing a group of these ninja to see what they were up to. If I'd known that they were attacking this place I would've come much sooner."

Before anyone could respond to Kakashi's explanation everyone noticed that things had suddenly quieted down. Rea looked outside and saw that the remaining masked-nins retreating. The Uzumaki then turned to Kakashi.

"What's going on?"

"No idea, but I'm afraid we don't have time to think about that for now. I got an order from the Hokage to take you guys to the main lobby of the hospital via my wireless radio just a few moments after I saw this guy heading for this room. We've just captured one of these attackers and are about to interrogate him." Kakashi explained as he motioned for the group to head to the door.

At hearing this Rea, realizing that finding out what was going on might prove helpful in the long run, decided to go there first before getting Naruto to a more secure place. Rea merely nodded in response before motioning Kakashi to lead the way. As Kakashi walked out of the door leading into the hallway, Rea made a few shadow clones to act as scouts. He didn't make many many since he needed to save up his chakra, but he did make enough to give them a heads up if trouble was nearby. They went out, and Rea followed.

With Hinata and even Sakura's help, Naruto followed suit, having a hard time keeping up his speed. Everyone else followed as they wondered what had just happened.

[Hospital Lobby, Konoha]

_A Few Minutes Later..._

The fight had already ended, with medic nins moving the injured and the dead. None of the masked ninja were in sight at this point as they had either retreated or had all been slaughtered. The building itself was not unscathed, signs of Tsunade's super-strength was seen here and there with rubble and broken walls.

The lobby itself was the least damaged area of the hospital but, at that moment, was the most crowded. Standing attentively, as if waiting for them, were the other three Uzumaki, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, Shino, Ino, Tenten, Kurenai, Asuma, Gai, Lee, Ibiki, some Anbu, and even the Sand Siblings, much to the surprise of Naruto and his friends.

"Gaara?" Naruto said when he saw his fellow jinchuuriki. "I didn't expect to see you here. It's good to see you, man."

"Good to see you as well, Naruto, though it would seem that the situation looks pretty here."

"I guess so... anyways, what brings you here? I thought you headed back home by now." Naruto asked.

"We were, but we were asked to come back."

Rea nodded. "We felt it might be good to have someone outside the village who knew you testify if they thought this village was a good place for you. Plus they were tasked to bring a message to Konoha anyways so they had to come here anyways."

"And we're glad we came when we did. When we heard that there was an attempt on your life fight we were very concerned." Temari added. "Gaara got really pissed when he heard that these guys were after you."

While Naruto, the other Leaf genin, and the Sand Siblings were talking amongst themselves, Tsunade, Ibiki, and Kikyo went to their captive and took off their mask. They didn't recognize the ninja, a young male in his late teens, as he showed no signs or traits of belonging to a clan or organization. Though just to be safe Tsunade made sure he was "missing" both of his arms now and had his legs broken.

"Start talking, you damned traitor." Tsunade started angrily. "Who are you working for? Who sent you to attack Naruto?"

"I will tell you nothing. It was my master's will that, for the good of the village, the boy be either captured or killed. That is all I will say." The shinobi droned, no emotion in his tone.

Kikyo readied her bow and pointed it down at his waste. "Is that so? Ok, then. Which one do you prefer? Left or right?"

"Left or right what?" The captive asked.

Kikyo answered his question when she released the arrow and it impaled one of his two 'fun parts', making him yell in pain rather loudly. Then she formed another arrow and then slightly shifted her bow's position. "I'm in no mood for your silence. Now start squealing."

"You can try all you want, but even if I wanted to I cannot tell you a thing." The captive replied, and even though he didn't sound afraid, there was some sweat starting to drop.

"You can't talk?" Jiraiya repeated, like something there stood out to him. "Open your mouth." He commanded.

As if to refuse, the captive shook his head, tightening his lips.

"Alright then." Jiraiya said before he grabbed the teen's cheeks then forcing the mouth open, looking in.

"You better have a good reason for this, Jiraiya." Tsunade warned.

Jiraiya looked closely and found what he was looking for. Then, using one hand to keep the teen's mouth open, Jiraiya reached into the teen's mouth and brought his tongue out for all to see. "See for yourself."

Kikyo narrowed her eyes when she saw what Jiraiya was showing them. "A fuinjutsu on his tongue, clearly the work of someone who doesn't want his subordinates to speak against him. And unfortunately, it likely has a failsafe to ensure removing it kills him, to guarantee any information dies with him."

"Most likely, but suppressing it should be safe." Jiraiya suggested, readying such a seal. The captive tried to resist so applying it was difficult, but this wasn't Jiraiya's first time putting a seal on the unwilling, so it wasn't much of a challenge.

Once the seal was applied, Jiraiya pulled away and glared down at the teen. "Now start talking."

The teen showed no expression. "I refuse. I will not betray my master."

"Boy, the other one is next. So unless you wish to lose more of your pride you had better cooperate," Kikyo asked, readying another arrow.

The teen seemed to pale ever so slightly at that, but retained his stoic look.

"If I may, I think I know how to get this handled in a less violent way." Kakashi offered, kneeling down to the captive's eye level.

"And that would be?" Ibiki asked, doubting even an ex-Anbu member could handle this better than him. The only reason he hadn't done much himself yet was because Tsunade wanted to be sure they couldn't get the boy to talk first, then he could try his luck. But he would give the jounin a chance to prove himself.

Kakashi pulled back his hitai-ate, revealing his sharingan. The tomoes began spinning rapidly, drawing the captive into a trance. "You will tell us who ordered this. You will tell us what they want."

Under the effects of the doujutsu, combined with Jiraiya's suppression seal, there was nothing to prevent the captive from confessing. "I obey the Hokage in theory only. I only follow Shimura Danzou-sama with complete obedience. His will is more than the law, it is far above the law."

Kikyo's eyes narrowed. "Shimura. I remember that name. Had to kill a few members of that clan in the past."

"Danzo hasn't been a ninja for a long time." Tsunade claimed. "Nowadays he's mostly a political shark, likes to believe he's a big fish in a small pond. He once formed a separate department of Anbu called Root that were disbanded when Sarutobi-sensei had reason to believe Danzou was training them to be his personal lapdogs, but I guess the old warhawk decided to go underground with his plans."

Though the captive heard them he couldn't reply, as Kakashi's genjutsu immediately forced him to answer the Copy Ninja's other question.

"Danzou-sama will not take the chance that the jinchuuriki might escape his grasp. He will not allow the jinchuuriki to even have the option of leaving Konoha. To ensure such an outcome, Uzumaki Naruto must remain here by force, and if the Hokage is willing to even consider letting the jinchuuriki leave, she must be removed from office by force."

Ino came to Shikamaru. "What does he keep calling Naruto?" She whispered.

"I don't know." The lazy chunin replied.

"Why would you obey a man? What makes you think he is above the Hokage?" Kakashi added.

"He is the only one who has the right to be Hokage. Anyone else is just stealing what is rightfully his. I would never truly obey a pretender to the title of Hokage." The captive, clearly a member of the should-be-gone Root organization, declared.

"He's been made completely obedient to Danzou Hokage-sama." Ibiki said. "I can tell from his tone and posture, he isn't just repeating what he's told even when he's under the control of the Sharingan. He honestly believes Danzou HAS to be hokage, for the same reason fire HAS to be hot."

That made Kakashi a bit uneasy, since it hinted at more sinister plans at play here. "What will Danzou do if he can't get Naruto today?"

"In the event of the failure of our mission, however it happens, Danzou-sama will have all ninja he's gathered rise up and revolt against the impostor Hokage before killing Uzumaki Naruto but not before the jinchuriki witnesses the deaths of those who support him including, but not limited to, Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura, Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Rock Lee, and even Uchiha Sasuke if it comes to it. And of course the Uzumaki envoy will be slain before Danzou-sama takes his rightful place as Konoha's only true Hokage."

Everyone who heard this was either shocked or angry, and for some a mixture a both. Kakashi covered his sharingan, both to avoid using the Mangekyo Sharingan, which he had yet to reveal to anyone, in anger and to conserve his chakra.

Free from hypnosis, the Root agent realized what had just happened. Naturally he was less than pleased at this.

"You will regret what you made me say." Despite his training to have no emotions at all, he found himself feeling anger, and lacked the means to control it. With that he then turned to Tsunade. "And you will regret falling for the tricks of the worthless demon brat and the puppets of his accursed demon mother-"

All of a sudden, Rea darted to the Root and slugged him hard in the jaw. Hard enough to hear something crack.

"Rea!" The other three Uzumaki said in surprise.

Rea seemed to ignore them all. His fists were covered in fiery tornadoes but the flames barely looked controlled. He grabbed the Root nin and the flames spread all over his body, burning intensely and almost turned white in seconds. And then suddenly it stopped, the flames evaporated, leaving only steam and burns on the Root nin. A close look showed that Rea's hands and sleeves were burned too, though not as much.

"Rea stop!" Kikyo ordered.

The red-haired ninja ignored her still and clenched his burned fists, then proceeded to beat the living hell out of the armless captive. There was no taijutsu or form used, this was just a savage beating, plain and simple. The people in the room could only watch as if they can't believe it's happening. If this savage beating wasn't brutal enough Rea then added in more flames.

"REA!" Miya and Jun yelled, pulling him away from his victim by hooking his arms with their own. He resisted of course, and managed to use his legs to add in a stomp for good measure, but Jiraiya came in with a quickly-made low quality seal to stop his movements. It wouldn't last long, but enough to stop him for now.

Gaara leaned closer to Naruto. "This guy is rather vicious. Even I have to admit that was going a bit too far."

'Coming from Gaara, that's really saying something.' Naruto thought but knew not to say.

Some Anbu checked on the Root nin. "He's dead." One of them told Tsunade.

"There goes any chance to get more information." The blonde Senju said to herself. "But what we got puts things in perspective." She added, glancing at Naruto and the other Uzumaki.

"That what happens when you scumbags insult Kushina or her son in front of me! Remember that." Rea said when the blind rage left him, but not before spitting on the dead ninja's corpse.

Kikyo was less than happy. "Rea, what did I tell you about overdoing it?"

"Sorry Kikyo-sama, but can you blame me here?"

'Note to self: Don't provoke that guy.' Kakashi told himself.

Kikyo looked to Tsunade. "The soldiers of this man have pulled back, but it's clear they'll be back again. Naruto must be taken somewhere safe."

Tsunade nodded. "Yes, and I think I know a place where Danzou wouldn't think to look, while I have my soldiers search for him."

Tsunade then ordered everyone out of the hospital as they proceeded to follow her. Before leaving, however, Rea pulled out a small bag filled with ryo before turning to the person standing in the lobby.

"Sorry about the mess." Rea said before tossing the bag at the medic-nin who caught the bag. Rea then left, being the last to see the charred, bloodied, and now crumbling corpse of the man he killed.

He didn't even feel a shred a remorse.


End file.
